


The One You Call

by Edollhouse



Series: Burnt [2]
Category: Burnt (2015)
Genre: Friends With Benefits, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edollhouse/pseuds/Edollhouse
Summary: Tony can't believe that Adam is in London, much less that Adam has somehow convinced him to hand over his restaurant to him, so he turns to where he knows he'll always find support, or will Reece think he's gone too far? Follows the events in the movie.





	1. Chapter 1

A part of Tony couldn’t believe what he had just agreed to. Had he really given Adam free rein to assemble a team and take over his restaurant? Not without conditions of course, but still. He had thought himself to have too much distance now, to have too much responsibility to be lured back that easily under Adam’s realm of influence. 

He should call Dr Rosshilde, but perhaps wait until the morning. He also knew that there was someone else he should call, even though Tony really didn’t want to call him. A letter would be more convenient, but take too long. A text would probably be his preferred method, but he knew that Reece wouldn’t appreciate it. So instead he took the only remaining option. He left early after dinner service the following day and arrived outside Reece’s restaurant, just in time for the man to appear through the doors. 

“Tony!” Reece greeted with a genuine smile, after waving goodbye to the few remaining members of his staff. “I am sorry, we’re closed.” It was clearly a joke, but Tony couldn’t even bring himself to smile. 

“I need to talk to you.” His serious tone made Reece’s smile vanish and he quickly stepped closer to him. 

“Has something happened? Is it your father?” Tony shook his head, but felt warmed by the concern.

“He’s ok. It’s something else. I am not sure here is the best . . .” Being is usual patient self, Reece suggested they’d go back to Tony’s, since it was the closest. They walked in silence, Tony answering emails on his phone and Reece going over the night’s service in his head, searching for improvements. 

Once they reached Tony’s flat, Reece took of his jacket and then went straight to Tony’s kitchen and poured them two glasses of white wine from the cupboard. Tony was soon with him and took the offered glass. For a moment the silence remained, Reece momentarily distracted by the wine, wanting to check what it was, but then decided one of them had to start the discussion ahead.

“So, I heard a rumour. And judging from your behaviour, I think I know what you want to talk to me about.” Tony was quiet, looking down at his wine glass. “Tony . . . Come on, you wanted to tell me.” Reece’s voice was soft and encouraging, with just the hint of impatience. 

“Well, as you clearly already know, Adam’s in London,” Tony answered, staring at the wine. “He turned up at the hotel and it took him two minutes and half a meal to know exactly how things were, and he wasted no time telling me.” 

There was anger and embarrassment in his voice. He and Reece hadn’t spoken much about it, but they both knew that the restaurant had for a while now suffered the risk of becoming a proper train wreck. It was a difficult situation. The Langham was a competitor and the best Reece could do was to not try and poach the little talent that was left. He had a few months back tentatively asked Tony if it wouldn’t be better to maybe at least threaten the board to go somewhere else, if only so that they would allow Tony free rains with the changes necessary to save the restaurant. Tony had muttered something about loyalty and his father, and they hadn’t spoken about it since. 

“So not dead then.” Not that he’d ever actually believed that Adam was dead. “I assume he charged for his constructive feedback with the meal.”

Tony made an angry huffing sound. “Yes, and a room, can you believe it?” Reece could definitely believe it, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe what Tony seemed to be implying, that Adam was staying at the Langham. Tony took a deep breath before he continued. 

“Anyway, he said he’s come to London for his third star . . . and he wants to do it at the Langham.” The last part was added with a quick look at Reece. 

“He what?” Reece couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Adam was back in London, and the first thing he’d done was to go to Tony and demand a restaurant. “Was he high?”

“No, completely sober, he says he’s been sober for over two years, no drugs, no alcohol, no women.” Tony’s voice had softened somewhat and Reece recognized the caring tone, and a bit of pride Tony always had in store for Adam. It was the same tone Tony had used in Paris whenever Adam had managed to turn it around after a bad streak. 

“You are not actually contemplating handing over your restaurant to him?” It was asked the same way he would have asked if Tony had suggested he wanted to set the restaurant on fire and collect the insurance money. 

“I told him where to go.” Reece gave him an approving, but apprehensive nod, waiting for the rest of the story. “Then he had Simone Forth come to the restaurant and . . . if I hadn’t let him cook, she would have destroyed us, the final nail in the coffin. And it was great, he still got it, the magic . . . Reece, the Langham needs this, a big relaunch with a two Michelin star chef.”

“There are other chefs out there. He, on the other hand, needs this, desperately from the sound of it.” 

“He says he wants to make amends for Paris.”

Reece made a scoffing sound, put his glass away and leaned back on his hands, taking a hard grip of the counter, trying to remain calm. “Tony, you realise what he’s doing? He’s blackmailed and manipulated you, trying to make you hand over your restaurant, making it sound like he’s doing you a favour. He can’t be trusted.”

“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that? He’ll have to give blood samples once a week.”

“Oh, God! You have it all figured out, haven’t you? I thought you’d come to tell me Adam’s in London, but you’ve come to tell me you’re thinking about hiring him.” There was a slight accusation in his tone and Tony was ready to match it.

“For months, you’ve told me that I need to do something about the restaurant, or the critics will soon have wrecked us so badly, our only guests will be clueless tourists with too much money and no taste.”

“Once, Tony, once, and all I said was . . .” He had only once, and only after Tony had asked him for advice, told him that they had a problem with the quality in the kitchen and that they couldn’t afford another bad review. He had never mentioned the word tourist trap. “I just don’t understand it. Letting him cook for Forth, fine, but don’t hand over your restaurant.”

“Papi’s getting worse, and . . . I want him to see that I can make the restaurant flourish again . . . I want him to be proud of me.”

Reece eyes widened, because he recognized the emotional arguments, arguments that Tony would normally be too rational to utter out loud. It was so typical Adam, and he remembered Paris when Adam had been drunk and said something about how no one in the world believed in them, but they would prove them all wrong. He pushed himself from the counter and walked over to Tony and took a firm hold of his shoulders.

“Did Adam say he wasn’t?” Tony avoiding his gaze was answer enough and Reece made a deep sigh. “Adam’s met your father, what? Once? Twice? A hundred years ago in Paris, so he doesn’t have a clue. Tony, look at me.” Tony’s eyes shifted and finally looked into Reece’s intense grey eyes. “Adam is a manipulative arse, always has been. Your father is very proud of you, as am I.”

Tony nodded. “I know.” Though sometimes he wondered why, when the restaurant was in the state it was in. “But I still want it to flourish again.” And of course he wasn’t just talking about the restaurant, but about Adam as well. 

Reece nodded slowly, doing is best not to overreact. “You do what you have to do. I’ll support you.” Silently he promised himself that if he had the chance, he would have a word with Adam, tell him to back off. “But don’t ask me to support Adam Jones.”

“I won’t,” Tony promised, then placed a kiss on Reece’s cheek. “I wouldn’t do this unless I thought I could handle him. I wouldn’t let some childhood crush ruin my father’s legacy.”

“No . . . but you’re mad if you think he’s doing this for anyone but himself.” Coming to terms with the fact that this was what Tony wanted, Reece decided to let it go. He forced himself to relax and managed a small smile looking down at Tony. “Did he look at you with big serious eyes telling you he has never been so sure about anything his whole life?”

Happy that the hardest part of the conversation was over, Tony smiled back. “Oh, yes, of course, and that it was the only idea that made any sense.” 

Reece let out a chuckle, put on the stereo, and the sound of a slow Spanish ballad spread in the flat. “So I assume you’ll let him put together his own team.”

“Of course,” Tony answered, figuring Reece would hear about Max and Michel soon enough, and let himself be led in a slow dance. It had taken him ages to convince Reece that dancing could be fun, and he didn’t feel he got the chance to enjoy it often enough. 

“I’ll keep a close watch on my staff then . . . How long before you’ll let me try and poach people from him?” Tony froze for a fraction of a second, and Reece leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Hey, I’m only joking.” They kept dancing. “I understand this will be a busy time for you, busier than normal, and a lot of strategy stuff that I really shouldn’t know anything about.” He made Tony spin and then caught him again. “Just promise me you’ll let me know if things get tough.” He consciously said if instead of when.

“We both know they will, sooner or later,” Tony answered, not stepping into that trap. “I know you’re there for me, and I’m grateful. But yes, probably will be very busy for a while, more so than normal.”

Reece stopped the dancing and leaned in close. “Well, in that case, I’ll just have to take all I can get right now.”


	2. Opening Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Opening Night

After the nightmare that had been opening night and Adam had gone up to his room after the promise of appearing in every TV show they could find, Tony was standing in his office, waiting for the computer to shut down so he could go home and finally get some sleep. All he wanted was for just a couple of hours to forget that the world existed. A light cough made him look up to see Kaitlin standing in the doorway to his office. 

“Kaitlin, I thought you’d already left.” He tried to sound his usual professional self, as though the night hadn’t been a big failure. Usually Kaitlin was good at knowing when was an appropriate time to bother him, and this was not it. Kaitlin hesitated for half a second, but then replied. 

“I did, but when I . . . Mr Reece, Mr O’Reilly, whatever he calls himself, is outside the building. He says he’s waiting for you.” She was professional enough not to ask, but not enough to hide that she was wondering. 

“Oh, thank you.” He contemplated whether he should offer some sort of explanation why Reece would be waiting for him, but decided against it. “I’ll walk you out and make sure he doesn’t bother you, or try to poach you.”

Kaitlin gave him a sweet smile and nodded, knowing that Mr Reece probably didn’t have any thoughts in that direction. So did Tony, but he also knew that he himself never skipped an opportunity to poach good talent. The computer finally shut down and he grabbed his coat and briefcase. 

“Kaitlin . . . there is no reason to tell Adam about this. He has enough on his mind as it is.”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything, though her sympathetic smile spoke volumes. 

Outside the building, Reece was standing by his car, a dark green Mustang he had bought two years ago. Tony turned to Kaitlin and wished her a goodnight. She did the same and after an unsure wave at Reece, she disappeared into the London night. Tony dragged his feet towards Reece. Before tonight, he hadn’t seen him in weeks and their only communication had been the occasional email and text.

“Hi,” he said, his tone defeated, but it also asked for comfort.

“Hi,” Reece answered and took a step closer towards him, throwing a look in the direction where Kaitlin had disappeared before putting an arm around him. 

“Adam is going to give back the money to all of tonight’s guests.” Reece just shook his head at the overdramatic gesture. “I have much to do, so I should probably . . .”

“You still need to eat. Can’t imagine after a night like that Adam organised a family meal.” It was typical Reece to offer comfort and criticising Adam in the same breath. 

Tony just shrugged. “I ate before we opened.”

“Hours and hours ago, and you never eat properly before a big night. Come on, let me drive you home and cook you some dinner.” Reece opened the passenger door. Tony gave him an uncertain look and Reece tried to be reassuring. “I promise, we don’t have to talk about tonight, or Adam, or Paris, we can talk about whatever you like . . . or nothing at all. Just get into the car.”

Tony took a look around, but then nodded and stepped into the car. Reece closed the door, got behind the wheel and they drove off in silence. Despite the short drive, Tony was almost half asleep when they arrived. He made a frown and turned to Reece. 

“I thought you were driving me home.” He wasn’t overly annoyed at the fact that Reece hadn’t driven him home, but it wasn’t according to plan. Reece didn’t look the least guilty. 

“Oh, I meant home to mine and cook you dinner in my kitchen. I haven’t been to yours in weeks, and after the last couple of weeks, I expect your cupboards are pretty empty.” He put a hand to Tony’s hair and tried to catch his eye. “I promise to drive you back in the morning.”

They went inside. Reece had a big well-decorated flat that wasn’t unlike his restaurant in style. Everything was clean, almost cold, and covered in white and marble. Even the orchids were white and planted in marble urns. However, Tony knew the bedroom was much more cosy, mahogany brown and blankets everywhere, a safe space protected by the stonewalls, and the only part of the flat Reece had decorated himself. 

Reece took his jacket and put it on a hanger. “You were very formal tonight . . . ‘Mr Reece’.” It was very rare that Tony called him anything but ‘Reece’, even in formal public circumstances. Tony made half a wry smile.

“Well, you were very secretive tonight, ‘Mr O’Reilly’.” Not to mention gloating. Tony had not been happy to see him, never mind that he had booked a table under a fake name, and had quickly decided to signal this to Kaitlin. Though he wasn’t sure if that was because he had wanted to protect Adam, himself or the hotel’s reputation. “And you were obviously there in a formal capacity – I am looking forward to the review.”

It was pure sarcasm and Reece hurried to put on a soft expression and walked over to Tony who had reached the living room. He placed a hand on his shoulder, the same shoulder Adam had squeezed and promised everything would get better – as if it could possibly get much worse. Tony looked up at him and let his face be cradled by the soft hands, but his eyes were still hard. 

“I am sorry.” Reece did his best to sound as apologetic as possible. “It is a beautiful restaurant.”

“Very Paris 2007?” Tony wasn’t going to let that line go that easily, even though he knew he sounded petulant. Reece made a small smile.

“You’ve created a beautiful room where everyone can enjoy Adam’s food along with your excellent taste in wines. It is very Paris 2007.” Tony made a huffing sound. “The place was still lovely, Tony. Paris 2.0, elevated and for the British market, Jean-Luc would have been proud.”

Tony’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “Thank you,” he mumbled, but would not look at Reece.

Reece leaned down and kissed his hair and pulled him into an embrace. “I am very proud of you, and so is your father.”

Tony shook his head against Reece’s shoulder. “He will think I made a mistake. I should hide the reviews from him.” Reece hugged him harder.

“Give it a few weeks. Isn’t that what Jean-Luc always said about Adam? That you have to smite him down for him to grow?” About Reece, Jean-Luc had always said that he was consistent, even in growth. Adam on the other hand had always been a surprise, for better or worse, but always somehow managed to land on his feet and not seldom somehow come out on top. 

Tony didn’t answer, but slowly withdrew from the Reece. “You promised me dinner,” he reminded him and Reece smile widened.

“Does that mean you are hungry then? Otherwise you could always trade in that dinner for breakfast.” Once more, he moved his lips closer to Tony’s, and to his delight he managed to make Tony smile. 

“Why, Mr Reece . . . what would your priest say?” he asked with a clearly teasing tone. 

“Oh, Father O’Reilly is very open minded, encouraging even . . . I could make you something light if you don’t want anything too heavy.”

“I told you, I already ate.” Tony reached up and kissed him and then started making his way towards the bedroom. 

They lay in Reece’s big bed, very tired and well aware that they had to be up in only a few hours. Tony was half asleep when he felt Reece’s arm around his waist and the man’s lips to his neck. 

“I should probably go,” he said, though only half committed to the idea.

“Nonsense, you should stay.” Reece placed another kiss to Tony’s shoulder, and continued talking between kisses. “I always sleep better when you do . . . And I’ll give you breakfast in the morning . . . and a ride to work . . . I’ve even cleaned and ironed your shirts, well, had them cleaned and ironed . . . and your toothbrush is next to mine.”

Tony turned to look at him. All those things were easily done, but they added up to something more than just their individual parts. “That was very kind of you.”

“I haven’t seen you much lately, so much going on.” Tony tried to decide if there was any hidden meaning to the words, but Reece could read that look. “If I’m coming on strong, it’s only because I’ve worried about you. I promise I’m not going to ask you to move in.”

They weren’t really together, never had been. Reece wasn’t sure what he’d call it, this thing they had when they were both between boyfriends. They took care of each other, looked after each other, and God knew Tony deserved some looking after.

There had been times when Tony had been worried that they, whatever they were, was getting too serious. But then Reece would tell him about someone, or try to set him up with someone, and he’d knew that they were still what they’d been for so long. They were friends, good friends, who sometimes slept together, taking care of each other, though he realized it had been really one-sided lately. His face froze. 

“Oh, how stupid of me, I haven’t even asked about you.” 

Reece shrugged. “You’ve had a lot on your mind. I am fine, the restaurant is doing great, though my investors want to see something new. Maybe a relaunch - guess what put that idea into their heads - we’ll see . . . Seen your father lately?”

“A couple of days ago. He was excited about the launch . . . though a bit worried.”

Reece could imagine. He remembered the conversation he’d had with Mr Balerdi about three years ago. They had gotten word about Adam’s disappearance a few months earlier and the older Balerdi had asked if he could drop by Reece’s restaurant. Of course Reece had said yes and had received the man on his day off in a private room. 

“You have a very fine restaurant, Mr Reece. I have eaten here a couple of times and I must say, you make me want to recommend British food even to my Spanish friends.”

“Thank you very much, Mr Balerdi. Tony always said you were a tough critic.” It was said in the most polite and respectful tone, yet Mr Balerdi suddenly looked gloom and directed his gaze out the window where the rain was pouring down in typical London fashion.

“Yes, my son, that is actually the reason I am here, Mr Reece.” Reece made a slight nod and waited for him to continue. “You might have heard that after losing his head chef, Jean-Luc had to close his restaurant.” 

“Yes, I heard, sad business.” It had become his standard answer whenever someone brought it up. His initial reaction had been a mix between ‘I told you so’ and complete heartbreak, but neither of those responses made for polite conversation. 

“Indeed,” Mr Balerdi answered in a similar standard answer tone. “Now, not that Antonio has told me, but I am worried he’s waiting for that man to come back.” ‘That man’ was uttered with such personal distain, and Reece wondered if Mr Balerdi had ever met Adam, or if this was through reputation alone. Finally Mr Balerdi looked back at Reece, and you could have thought from the look in his eyes that he partly blamed Reece for the situation. “He seems to have made a habit of placing his trust in underserving hands.” It was clear he didn’t really mean trust. Reece made a short smile.

“Perhaps, but he is also a great maître d’ and from what I’ve heard, always runs his teams efficiently and to perfection. I willingly admit, I tried to poach him from Jean-Luc when I opened this place.” It had mainly consisted of a few emails trying to convince Tony that he deserved much better than what Adam was giving him, and that whatever loyalty he felt towards Jean-Luc couldn’t be worth it. Adam wasn’t THAT good.

Mr Balerdi looked semi-surprised by the statement, as though he agreed, but hadn’t expected to hear it from someone else. “I have come to ask you a favour, Mr Reece.”

A bit taken off guard, Reece quickly tried to figure out what kind of favour the old hotel and restaurant owner could be asking of him, but he had promised Tony to keep an eye on him. “I am happy to help whatever way I can.”

“It is a big favour,” Mr Balerdi warned, but continued. “I’ve half managed to convince Antonio that he should come back home, but only half. I would like to ask you to go to Paris and bring him home.”

Though it had been tempting during the years to go and try to actually manhandle Tony away from Paris, it had never occurred to Reece to actually do it.

“Mr Balerdi, I’m not sure . . .”

“You were friends in Paris, yes?” And Reece could see it in his eyes, the same determination so often found in Tony’s. 

“Yes, but . . .” He could tell Mr Balerdi was about to interrupt him again, so he hurried to continue. “Mr Balerdi, I know Tony is your son, but he is a grown man.”

If he had been talking to Tony, Tony would have huffed and called him an idiot. But Mr Balerdi wasn’t a chef or a maître d’, he was an old businessman, and knew what he wanted. 

“Mr Reece, it’s a very childish notion to think that grown men always know what’s best for them . . . There is nothing for him in Paris. That man is gone, the restaurant has closed, and it was only meant to be temporary anyway. He needs to come home and learn how things work over here. Now, if you are his friend, surely you can see that this is what’s best for him.” 

Reece didn’t know what to say, and Mr Balerdi clearly took it as an affirmative.

“I know it’s a big favour, but it doesn’t have to take more than a day. You take the Eurostar in the morning, collect him and his things, and bring him back in the evening. Of course, I will tell him that you’re coming, and naturally, whatever expenses you have will be on me.”

Two weeks later, Reece went on the Eurostar to Paris. He made a short visit to Jean-Luc, who was happy to see him, but looked old and tired and much more worn out than Reece remembered him. After another quick stop to say hi to Michel, Reece went to the address that Mr Balerdi had given him. 

Tony opened after three knocks, he looked better than Jean-Luc, but only slightly, with tired eyes, a defeated expression and as much of a beard as Reece had ever seen on him. Clearly Adams’ disappearance had been a hard blow. 

“Reece,” he breathed with something that almost sounded hopeful. 

Reece hesitated for a second, but then pulled him into a firm hug. When he let go, he took a look around the almost empty flat. Tony had packed his bags, and most of the furniture had either been shipped to London or been sold. It looked deserted, like an empty shell. 

“The train leaves at eight, so we have plenty of time.” It was the first words spoken between them since Tony had come to London for his father’s birthday two years previously, and Reece felt that he had waited to say those words for a long time. Finally, Tony was coming home. 

Tony mumbled some embarrassed words about how his father still thought him a child. “I’m sorry he dragged you into this.”

They walked into the kitchen, which was just as empty as the rest of the flat, only Tony had prepared coffee that they drank standing. Reece couldn’t help but smile. Even in times like this, Tony was forever the perfect host. 

“For my father, this is the best case scenario. I’m leaving Paris, he gets me back home to the family business, and he didn’t even have to poach me from Jean-Luc.” Reece didn’t know what to say, so he remained quiet. Then Tony looked up and actually attempted a smile. “But for what it’s worth, I am happy to see you.” 

Reece put his cup down. “My offer still stands, Tony, if you don’t want to come home and work for your father, my restaurant would be thrilled to have you.”

At that Tony did smile, a heartbreakingly sad smile, and Reece quickly pulled his arms around him. Not for the first time did he wonder if Mr Balerdi had sent him, not to make sure Tony came back home, but so that Mr Balerdi himself wouldn’t have to deal with his son in this state. Tony held on to Reece and did his best not to have a complete breakdown.

“I did everything I could . . . I-I tried-” His voice cracked. Reece could feel him shudder and took a stronger hold of him.

“I know, I know, and no one could have handled him for as long as you, no one, but it was a losing battle.”

“Have you heard from him?” It was almost too quiet for Reece to hear. But he realized that if Tony was asking him for information about Adam, then he was truly desperate.

“No, but I’m sure we will, sooner or later.”

“Someone said he’d been stabbed in Amsterdam.” Reece couldn’t help but thinking that it was typical Adam that he couldn’t just disappear like a normal person, but that he had to have rumours about being killed in Amsterdam. 

“Of course he wasn’t,” he said, doing his best to sound reassuring without calling Tony stupid.

Tony took an extra breath and then continued with a calmer tone. “So how did papa convince you to come and pick me up?”

“Have you ever tried to say no to your father?” Reece laughed, but kept his arms tight around Tony. “I’ve missed you, Tony. I shouldn’t have left you alone with them.” He had always felt a bit guilty for leaving, leaving without having been able to convince Tony to come with him, though he had tried.

Tony shook his head against Reece’s shirt. “Don’t be silly. That was my decision.” They both knew that probably wasn’t strictly true. “I . . . I don’t know what to do. I can’t go from working for my father’s friend to my father’s. I mean, how would that look?”

“I’m telling you, come work with me. I have a proposition I think you’d be very interested in.” Tony let go of him, took a step back and looked expectantly at him. “I’m going after my third star. I know it’s cocky, some would say next to impossible, but with the right staff and support I could do it.”

“If anyone can, it’s you,” Tony agreed, both as a friend and as a professional in the industry.

“So I need you. You know how they love odes to the French kitchen. You would be my lifeline back here. I’m thinking a sort of bridge over the channel, proper British food with wines that you would find in a French restaurant, all set in a clean, almost anti-pastoral setting.”

“It sounds very good. But what would your staff say? Your maître d’? Your sommelier?”

“In my kitchen, we are a team, and you would be much needed expertise.”

Reece took Tony on the Eurostar back to London. After one week, Tony was settled in a small nice flat close to his father’s hotel. Two weeks after that, Reece asked him out and they had sex in Tony’s new bed, and Tony started working for Reece. Mr Balerdi was happy, and stopped by at Reece’s to tell him as much. Though he added that his son appeared to still have an unhealthy fascination with talented chefs. 

Three months later, Reece was awarded his third star, and after a couple of weeks’ celebration Tony started working in his father’s restaurant. All was as it should be, things were settling, and though Jean-Luc’s death was a hard blow, they got through it together. And then. Adam.


	3. The Day After

The next day was not as horrible as Tony had expected. Yes, opening night had been a disaster, but after spending the night at Reece’s he felt strong enough to deal with it, and instead see it as a problem needing to be solved. At least, that was what he was trying to tell himself. 

Reece fulfilled all his promises. Tony woke up to the lovely sound of someone working in the kitchen. There was a towel at the end of the bed and over a chair was one of his shirts, still in the packaging from the dry cleaner. After a shower and getting dressed, he made his way into the big kitchen where Reece served him his own take on pincho de tortilla and very strong coffee. 

“Good morning,” Reece cheered from the stove. 

“Let’s hope it is,” Tony agreed.

He sat down on one of the high chairs by the kitchen isle and poured two drops of milk. “You spoil me,” he mumbled with a smile and again felt a bit guilty for the friendship lately being so much of a one-way street.

“Don’t be silly. It’s what friends are for, right?” Reece said it lightly, but avoided Tony’s gaze by putting away the dishes. Truth was he was feeling a bit guilty. Despite how upset Tony had been last night, Reece hadn’t been able to help but feeling a bit of a satisfaction over Adam’s failure. Adam had always thought that anything Reece could do he could do better. And true, sometimes Adam was like a magician and there was no telling how he managed to do what he did. No one could say he didn’t have talent and skills. But most things also needed discipline, something Adam had lacked and called those who had it ‘boring’ and ‘unimaginative’. Reece wanted Langham and Tony to succeed, but he didn’t know if he could stomach if it was brought on by Adam’s success. 

He knew he was being horrible and tried to shake it off and focus on the here and now. “How was it?” he asked Tony who was now nearly done. 

Tony wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It was very good,” he answered, looking at Reece, who looked back at him with suspicion. Tony had answered too quickly and too politely.

“Ok, out with it. What was wrong with it?” Reece demanded to know with playfully stern voice. Before Tony could answer, there was a warning finger pointing in his direction. “And don’t tell me ‘it’s not like Papa’s’, it’s not meant to be.”

“It was very good, I just preferred it the way you did it last time.”

At that Reece couldn’t help but laugh. “You mean when you got to help and chopped everything into tiny little pieces, too tiny to really use in a proper pincho? I’ll remember that next time.” He walked over to Tony and embraced him from behind.

“Are you going to be ok?”

Tony put a hand on top of Reece’s arm. “Yeah . . . Though I imagine that the damage control won’t make me less busy.”

“You do what you have to do. I’ll be here,” Reece assured him, mentally preparing for the crash and burn that seemed to follow Adam Jones wherever he went. Then he placed a quick kiss on Tony’s cheek. “Ok, come on. I promised you a ride and I know how you hate being late.”

Though Reece always offered, Tony never let him drive all the way to the Langham. He knew there were rumours and he didn’t feel like giving people more fodder. Still, when Reece stopped the car, Tony took an extra second to close his eyes and brace himself for what was coming. Suddenly he felt Reece’s hand upon his. 

“It’s going to be alright. And if Adam decides to be . . . ‘Adam’.” He did his best to sound at least civil. “Just remember that he owes you, not the other way around.”

Tony nodded, but then thought of Adam’s promise last night, to do all the shows, to make it work. “I don’t think he’ll . . .” But then he thought of the Adam he knew; amazing, proud, unreliable, impossible Adam, who had ended last night by kicking his staff out of the restaurant, and he nodded again. “I’ll remember.” 

He made a quick walk to the hotel and then headed straight for his office. 

“Tony!” Tony turned around to see Adam alone in the otherwise empty kitchen. He looked the opposite of Tony, restless, tired, like he’d slept in the clothes he was wearing and his eyes shone with apprehension. “I heard Reece turned up last night.”

Tony momentarily froze. What had Adam heard? Who had told him? He immediately suspected Kaitlin. To buy himself some time he just made a slight nod and gave what he hoped was a thoughtful expression. To his surprise, Adam got a guilty look on his face and made a heavy sigh. 

“I am sorry. I’m sorry yesterday wasn’t the success it was meant to be and . . . I mean, I know he hates me, but I had no idea he’d stoop to that. Did he give you a hard time?” 

Tony did his best to hide his relief and was infinitely happy that he’d insisted on Reece dropping him off a block away from the hotel. He quickly concluded that Adam had not gotten the information from Kaitlin. Maybe he’d just heard it from someone who’d seen Reece at the restaurant, and then Tony had ignored Reece as soon as he’d been placed at a table. Nothing to report. He wasn’t sure what exactly his face was showing, but Adam walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, I know what Reece can be like.” His voice was so gentle and his face showed more concern by the second. 

Tony realized he had to answer. Trying to play it cool, he made a slight shrug. “Oh, it was nothing I couldn’t handle.” Adam looked unconvinced.

“If you want, I’ll go and talk to the smug bastard.” The tone was grave, almost threatening, and for a second, just a short second, Tony let himself relish a moment of Adam offering to do this for him, protect him or defend him, whatever Adam thought he was doing. Then he wanted to shout that no, Adam could absolutely not go and confront Reece. 

He made himself smile, a smile that Reece would have called out immediately but that Adam hadn’t studied enough to know it was forced. “Come on, don’t be silly. We have much more important things to do.” He got a paper out of his briefcase. “Here are the numbers of all the shows wanting you.”

Adam took the paper and smiled back at him, always seeing new opportunities. “Great! Let’s go over them together.” He put his free arm around Tony’s shoulder, steering him towards the office. “And don’t worry about Reece. Let’s just ban him or something.”

It was said lightly, but Tony was still swept back to a time in Paris when Adam had suggested they’d ban Reece, and he had been deadly serious. To keep the peace, Jean-Luc had actually agreed, but only because Reece had gone back to London, and he had assured Tony that he never meant it to be enforced.

They walked into the office and Tony turned to Adam. As he turned, Adam almost walked into him, and Tony had to force himself to stay focus, to not think of the proximity to the man he had trusted with his father’s pride and joy. “Adam, I really appreciate your enthusiasm.”

Adam got a bemused look and Tony hurried to continue. “But you can’t run this kitchen alone, you need staff, and it can’t just be Max and Michel.”

Adam looked like he was going to object. The old Adam would’ve, would’ve said that he could do is all on his own, never needed anyone else. Despite the anger Adam had evoked in him last night, Tony couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Adam always said he didn’t need anyone, but that was because all the people he’d trusted had let him down. Last night had been horrible, but Tony had been swept away by Reece, who’d taken care of him, who had made him forget, if only for a few hours, and made sure he got a good night’s sleep and a good start on a new day. Who had done that for Adam? Who would Adam ever trust to let them do such a thing for him?

To his surprise, Adam didn’t object, just took a deep breath and nodded. “I know.” Then he got that guilty look again and dared a glance at Tony. “I need her back, Tony.” 

The voice was full of sincere remorse. It always was. Tony was not unprepared for this, and he did agree that Helene was good for Adam, he just wished Adam would have used different words, that it wouldn’t have been a phrase Adam had used so many times before in Paris, whether it had concerned a girlfriend, a sous-chef, and once even Adam’s favourite frying pan.

“You should talk to her,” Tony agreed, but Adam shook his head with a small guilty smile. 

“I was a terror last night. There’s no way she’ll listen to me.” It was clear what he was getting at and the feeling of déjà-vu threatened to overwhelm Tony.

“Ok, I’ll get her back, on one condition.” Adam nodded in agreement. “You’ll listen to her. She’s clever, she knows what she’s doing-”

“I wouldn’t have hired her if she didn’t,” Adam interrupted with a knowing smirk as though he hadn’t sacked her in the most brutal way possible less than 24h earlier, and Tony had to bite his tongue. And Reece was the smug one?

“If I get her back, you promise you’ll listen to her?” And it wasn’t the way he usually dealt with Adam. This was not Tony pleading Adam to behave. This was a deal-breaker and he could tell Adam knew it.

“I promise I’ll listen to her.” Adam said it as though it barely needed to be said, as though he was just trying to calm a nervous child. “I’ll do all the TV shows, I’ll listen to her, and I have a great idea how to get people back into the restaurant.” Tony looked anticipating at him. “Free food.”

For a second Tony meant to object, but the conviction in Adam’s eyes stopped him. And when Adam explained how it was all going to work out, the carefully laid out plan, how could he do anything else but believe in him? And he knew he needed to get Helene to see it too.


	4. Success

It had almost been too easy. Actually, it hadn’t been easy at all, but just the fact that it hadn’t been impossible was amazing. The Langham was now considered a success story. At the latest board meeting, several of the board members had expressed their joy over what they’d called “a miracle”. They were thrilled, of course, and had quickly forgotten the dreaded opening night. Shareholders were happy, critics were pleased, Tony was over the moon and he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Adam in such good form. The business was going so well, Tony had barely time to see his father every now and then, not to mention have some sort of life outside the Langham, but not long after everything had started going great, Jack called. 

When Tony left Reece to go and work for his father, Reece had hired Jack. Jack was smart, calm, loyal, and had an almost uncanny instinct for trends in wine. He was also one of the few people who knew for certain about Reece and Tony after having walked in on them in the restaurant’s wine cellar the day before Tony was leaving. Of course he would never say anything, far too discreet and loyal, but Tony felt that Jack always treated him with what he probably considered an appropriate amount of suspicion. Jack calling him was therefore never a good sign, and that he asked Tony to come by was enough to make Tony seriously worried. He immediately turned to Kaitlin and said that he was going out and probably be gone for a few hours.

“If anyone asks, tell them I’ve gone to visit my father,” he absentmindedly explained while grabbing his coat. There were still hours till service. Hopefully, Jack’s worry was exaggerated and this wouldn’t take longer than a couple of hours. He checked his phone again, but Reece hadn’t tried to reach him. 

“Sure . . . Is everything ok?” Kaitlin had gotten used to Tony’s cheerier mood and this sudden change surprised her. Tony waved off her worry, telling her that everything was fine. Kaitlin nodded. “And if someone needs to get hold of you?”

Tony tried not to look annoyed, realizing he had given away his own lie. He made a tight smile. “I’m sure you can manage for a few hours, and if not, you have my number.”

Tony reached Reece’s restaurant by taxi and had barely gotten out of the car before Jack was with him with an umbrella to shelter him from the rain.

“Tony, good you could come. You know I wouldn’t usually do this, but I need someone to talk some sense into him. You will, won’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, or possibly taking the answer as given, he led him into the closed restaurant. Tony could clearly remember what it had looked like at the last relaunch, the crispy white, the stone walls, how it was all so far away from a French restaurant you could possibly imagine, and still beautiful, still so very impressive. And now it looked like hooligans had gone at it with baseball bats.

Tony took a look around the smashed up place and swore under his breath. “What happened?” He turned to Jack in pure confusion.

“He, eh . . . the last weeks’ reviews . . .” Jack tried to explain without having to actually say anything.

Understanding what Jack was saying, Tony still couldn’t quite believe it. “All of this,” he gestured towards the ruins of Reece’s restaurant, “because of the Langham’s good reviews?” It didn’t make any sense. Reece had supported him. Reece wanted the Langham to do well.

Jack gave him a cynical smile. He was tired. It had already been a very long day, and it was barely 2 pm. “Because of _Adam Jones’_ brilliant reviews, yes. I guess congratulations are in order. Seems your gamble paid off.”

Tony wasn’t really listening to him. “Where is he?” Jack nodded towards the kitchen.

“I’ll leave you to it.” He gave Tony a small grateful smile and then left. Tony made his way into the kitchen, at least that was still in impeccable condition, where he found Reece sitting on the floor with a beer bottle in his hand.

“Hi Tony,” he muttered, not really surprised to see him. He’d given Jack a real scare earlier and Tony was the given last resort. “Want a beer?”

“No, thank you,” Tony said and walked over to stand over Reece, who didn’t seem drunk, just tired and angry. Two decades with Adam Jones had taught Tony to tell the difference. “Montgomery Reece, what happened?”

“I had a meeting with the board earlier today, one of those quick, short notice, strategy . . . I guess you could call it a panic meeting.” The words were forced through gritted teeth. Oh, how he hated that stupid board. A couple of good reviews to Adam Jones and it was like they forgot that Reece was the one with three stars, that people flew to London just to eat his food. He looked up at Tony, squinting his eyes. 

“Remember that I told you that they maybe wanted a relaunch? Well . . . They’re now insisting on it. Whatever it takes, I even managed to convince them to give me a carte blanche, both creatively and budget wise, can you imagine?” Their only demand had been that it would be a full renovation, everything brand new, which had just pissed him off even more. The restaurant was perfect, but because the Langham had done it for Adam Jones, his investors wanted something new and shiny. Spare no expenses. 

“Then I came here, closed the restaurant and got started.” He made a halfway nod towards the dining hall.

Tony smirked in a parody of being impressed. “You did that all by yourself?” 

Reece looked away. He knew what he’d done was childish, but at the same time, they were doing the renovation, something completely new, and the demolition had been good therapy. “Well, you know what they say. Can’t make an omelette.”

“Jack says you were acting out because of the Langham’s good reviews. And it’s funny because . . .” His tone let it be known that he didn’t find it funny at all. “I had this silly notion that you would be happy for me.”

Reece looked almost offended and turned his gaze back at Tony, feeling he had dealt with enough idiocy for one day. “I AM happy for you.” He said as though he was talking to a dense child, or a particularly stubborn chef. “Just don’t ask me to be happy for Adam Jones.” 

He had expressly told Tony that he would not support Adam Jones, but Tony didn’t seem to understand. “It’s the same thing!” Tony half shouted taking a couple of step away from Reece. 

“It is not the same thing!” Reece got up on his feet, taking an extra breath to calm himself down before continuing. “I did try to keep this undignified reaction away from you. Fucking Jack.” The last part was muttered under his breath, but Tony heard him.

“He was worried,” Tony tried half-heartedly, not really caring if Reece was angry with Jack.

“Yeah, maybe I should have told him I had gotten the go-ahead for the renovation,” Reece mumbled, looking out the door towards the devastation, but then looked at Tony. “Don’t think I’m not happy that the Langham is doing well . . . But I want you to promise me you’re careful.”

Tony didn’t feel that Reece was in any position to demand anything from him. He folded his arms. “What, and not let the success go to my head?”

Reece shook his head. “You know what I mean.” He paused and then shook his head again at Tony’s non-understanding look. “You will think I have ulterior motives.”

“Try me.”

Reece did try, tried to find the right words. Maybe Adam was in it for the long haul. Maybe he hadn’t lied to Tony when he said no more alcohol, drugs or women. It was possible that he had finally decided to get his shit together and do his best to achieve his third star at the Langham. Tony had given him every opportunity to succeed and maybe, unlike when Jean-Luc did the same for him, Adam wouldn’t go out of his way to fuck it up. It was hard to admit, but a small part of Reece wanted Adam, his friend from the early years in Paris, to succeed. 

“Promise me you still know that this is not for you. He’s not doing this to make amends. You are doing all of this for him, but he is not doing it for you.”

Tony made an annoyed scoffing sound, but Reece continued. “Or anyone else. He’s doing it for himself, for his own self-worth and for his own ego. I know you can’t help being in love with him, but promise me you’re careful.”

Tony didn’t know what to say. How could he explain to Reece that he didn’t care that Adam wasn’t doing this for him? He was doing this for Adam, selflessly or selfishly, because of the wonderful feeling of seeing Adam do well, physically, mentally and gastronomically. That he had been or still was in love with Adam had nothing to do with it, but of course he also knew that it had everything to do with it. He had talked about it with Dr Rosshilde, but not enough apparently.

“I’m not in love with him.” Reece looked doubting. “I’m not. He’s doing wonders for the Langham. Do you really think I could’ve convinced my investors to let him stay if he wasn’t?”

“A couple of months ago, I might have believed you.” Tony had to agree it was a stupid lie. Everyone loved Adam when he was on a good streak. He gave up the attempt and decided to surrender and walked up to Reece. 

“Fine,” he sighed. “If I promise to be careful, will you promise to stay sane and not have Jack calling me in panic?”

The staring contest lasted half a second and then Reece actually smiled. “It’s a deal,” he said and they shook on it.

-

Tony hurried back to the Langham. It was later than planned and he had to remind himself he was the boss and did not have to come up with excuses or answers to Kaitlin’s asking eyes, or any of the other staff. Not that Adam would ever count himself as staff. 

“Tony!” he called as soon as Tony appeared in the kitchen. Tony made a small wave and muttered something about having to go and check the wine list for tonight. He threw his coat into his office and hurried down to the wine cellar. For a second he thought he was in the clear, but then he heard footsteps behind him, and then Adam’s voice.

“I need to ask you something.” Tony slowly turned from the vintage racks, not in the least surprised that Adam had phrased it as a demand and not a question. He silently waited for Adam to continue. “How’s your father?”

“He’s ok.” He answered and waited. This was clearly not Adam’s real question. It was just a reaction to Tony’s apparent disinterest. Tony figured Kaitlin must have told him where he was. But then that would also mean that Adam had noticed his absence. He knew he shouldn’t care about something as trivial as that, shouldn’t read anything into it, that he should be careful. 

Adam nodded. “Good, that’s good . . . I heard Reece has temporarily closed his restaurant.”

Tony was stunned at the statement that seemed to come out of nowhere. Reece hadn’t been closed for 24 hours and somehow Adam already knew about it. But then London’s culinary world was small, at least the elite, and there were a lot of people these days who wanted to be on Adam’s good side, slipping him information. That, and of course word travelled fast in their small world. 

“So I heard . . .” He wasn’t sure what Adam wanted to ask. If he thought it was true? If he knew anything more about it? He was just about to say something about that it was only a relaunch, when Adam asked him another question. 

“Is it true you used to work for him?” There was none of the accusation that Tony had expected if Adam ever would ask him that question. It sounded curious, as though Adam had heard about it, but hadn’t been able to decide if he thought it could be true.

He contemplated telling Adam that it was none of his business and that he should get back to work. He also wanted to know who had told him, but realized it could’ve been anyone. It had never been a secret that he had been working for Reece. His name had even been mentioned a couple of times in the press when Reece had gotten his third star. And he didn’t want to make it sound as though he had something to hide. He folded his arms and looked at Adam somewhat defensive. “Yeah, for a while, when I just got back to London.”

Adam nodded slowly. Tony could see how he wanted to rush back up to the kitchen to prepare service, but he wasn’t finished with him. “Why?”

Again there was no accusation, just genuine curiosity, and Tony couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing. Sometimes Adam really acted the repentant recovering addict, no judgement, just seeking to understand. 

“What do you care?” he asked with a bemused smile and contemplated to do his job as boss and tell his chef to go back to work.

“I mean, it’s Reece.” Adam was slowly shifting from being understanding to, if not accusing then at least a bit judgemental. He wasn’t interested in Tony anymore, where Tony had or hadn’t work, but just the thought that anyone would want to work with Reece. “Why would you choose to work with him?”

“What, a two star chef who soon had his third one?” Tony bit back. In weak moments he would admit that there were times, especially in Paris, when he could find Adam’s jealousy flattering, but this was just petty. Adam scoffed and Tony scoffed back. “He offered me a job. I needed one. Jean-Luc had to close the restaurant, remember?”

He knew he was being harsh, that he was trying to play on Adam’s guilt, but at least it put a lid on Adam’s anger. Adam’s gaze bounced off the wines, looking anywhere but at Tony. “I . . . I guess I always imagined that after Jean-Luc you would-”

“’Run straight back to daddy’?” Especially during the later years in Paris, Adam had on occasion, often drunk and/or high, accused Tony of soon leaving Jean-Luc’s for his father’s restaurant. Back then Tony had put it down to Adam’s insecurities, and that he didn’t mean it to hurt him, but just to express his fear of abandonment. However, three years in London with Reece and Dr Rosshilde had made him realize that it had hurt him and Adam hadn’t cared. 

He could tell Adam knew what he was referring to, but he didn’t say anything, just stood there looking like a kicked puppy. Tony took a deep breath. If this was going to work, he had to forgive and move on. 

“You weren’t completely wrong. I only worked for Reece for a few months before I started here.” He shrugged. “Call it transitioning,” he offered as a non-explanation. 

Adam nodded. “You’re still friends?” It wasn’t clear if it was a real question or just a transition out of the conversation.

Tony was not ready to talk to Adam about Reece in any way that mattered and decided to lour at him as though he was talking nonsense. “Oh, yes, didn’t you notice at our opening night just how friendly he was?” He shook his head. “We’re competitors and we’re civil. It might be exciting to have enemies and see people as rivals, but this is nicer. You should try it.”

Adam nodded, but Tony could tell he wasn’t listening. “When I first came here, Reece told me to leave you and your father alone.”

Tony shrugged. “He was probably just trying to be a friend, to me not to you.”

A smile played on Adam’s lips. “Am I your friend, Tony?” He took a step closer and Tony did his best not to react, not to read anything into it. “I know you are the best friend I’ve ever had.” Then he patted Tony’s shoulder and he looked like he was about to say something, but then changed his mind. “I should go up and prepare service.”

And with that he left the wine cellar, leaving Tony with his wines and thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

*Heard about the Bonesis? Plz be careful*

Outside the hotel, Tony was just staring down at the text from Reece, not for the first time feeling like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. He quickly decided that whoever had told Reece must have given him reason to remain calm. He hadn’t called, just texted, but Tony was sure the calls would come of he didn’t answer quickly. 

Tony threw a look at his watch and decided he had five minutes to deal with this. *I’m handling it.* He deleted it, deciding that to suggest that he was handling drug dealers would not calm Reece down. Instead he sent, *Promise. Don’t worry. Call you later*. Then he went through the main entrance, nodded hello to Kaitlin and then went into the kitchen where everyone was focusing on preparing for service. 

“Max!” he called, and Max looked up from preparing the fish. “Could I have a word?”

The rest of the kitchen looked up with slight surprise, including Adam who sent Tony a questioning look that Tony just waved off. Max sent Adam a look and Adam just nodded his head at Tony, telling Max to go. It didn’t take more than a few seconds, but it was long enough to annoy Tony. 

“Just a quick word,” Tony said and walked towards his office.

“Sure thing, boss,” Max answered and followed. 

After making sure that the door was closed and people outside could not overhear normal voices, Tony sat down. 

“All ok, boss?” Max asked and sat down opposite to Tony.

“Eh, yeah.” Max nodded, but looked around a bit, as though he was wondering what he was doing there. “Actually . . . Have you spoken to Reece lately?”

A shadow of a smile came over Max’s face. “I see him from time to time. Not as often as you.”

The smile and the almost happy tone were rewarded with a glare from Tony. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing, boss,” but it was clear that it was definitely something. 

“Max,” Tony said sternly, like he was a principal with a difficult student in front of him. “Have you mentioned the Bonesis to Reece?” The Bonesis were a problem that had appeared in Paris long after Reece had left and there was no way Reece could have known about them without someone telling him.

Max made a sound that was something between a scoff and a sigh. He had never been one to interfere with other people’s business, but he couldn’t help but thinking that there were too many rules, just like Paris. In Paris the rules had been as clear as they had been unspoken. You didn’t mention Adam’s drug problems to Reece, or Jean Luc. You didn’t mention Adam’s past to women, or anyone new working in the kitchen. And you definitely didn’t mention whatever suspicion you had about Tony and Reece to Adam, not even as a joke. 

Max looked out the glass door. “Don’t worry, Tones, I haven’t told him.”

The use of his nickname made Tony doubt that he was talking about Reece and the Bonesis. He followed Max’s gaze to Adam working away in the kitchen. 

“You haven’t told Reece about the Bonesis?” he repeated, but his voice wavered slightly and Max turned to look back at him.

“They’ve been hanging around for a while now. Word travels fast, you know that . . . My money would be on Michel.” Tony’s head snapped back to look at Max. “He also talks to Reece from time to time. All I know is that I didn’t tell him.” He leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice. “And I haven’t told Adam about you and Reece. Though if you ask me, it’s only a matter of time. Half the city seems to know that there’s been . . . something.” Max wasn’t really interested in gossip, and in this day and age, who’d care, but he had heard the odd remark here and there. 

“There’s nothing to know,” Tony muttered and for a moment he almost wished it were true. Because he knew that Max was right and he could guess Adam’s reaction. 

Max shrugged to show he didn’t care either way. “He’s a good guy.”

“And a good friend,” Tony filled in. “But we’re not together, so I’d appreciate if that word did not travel.” He then turned to his computer and made a gesture to Max that he could go. 

“Right, boss,” Max muttered, but before he reached the door, Tony called his name again. 

“Oh, Max,” Max turned with a half raised eyebrow. “When Adam asks what we were talking about, tell him we were discussing your salary.”

Max smiled. “Am I getting a raise?”

“Or you could say we were discussing your meetings with your probation officer. He called, by the way, and I confirmed that you still work here, that you are still behaving and have not cut off any people’s noses, staff’s or guests’.”

Max couldn’t help but laugh. Then he winked at Tony and went back to the kitchen. 

Once Max had left, Tony closed his eyes and made a heavy sigh. Everything with the Langham was going so well. It was what he had dreamed of for the last two years, from around the time when he’d realized that the restaurant hadn’t just had a momentary fluke, but was actually in big trouble. And still he couldn’t just be happy, a small part of him just couldn’t help but wishing that things could have been slightly different. 

It was a selfish want, and he decided to counter it by doing selfless things. He gave Reece space to preparing for his relaunch, he visited his father more regularly and he decided that where Adam was concerned, he would just focus on helping Adam be the best chef, the three star chef, and the best man he could be, the man he knew Adam could be if he only got some encouragement, and sometimes force. So when Helene mentioned her problem about having to work on her daughter’s birthday, his plan had almost immediately appeared to him. To his surprise, the hardest part of the plan was to explain to Reece why he could no longer meet up on his day off. 

“Surely you are too busy with preparing your relaunch anyway,” Tony tried, but Reece wouldn’t have it. He had once again found that Tony was sacrificing things for Adam without Adam even having to bother asking him.

“Explain to me again how you, you who have never liked children, have decided to spend your day off babysitting for your staff because Adam won’t give them the day off. It’s ridiculous.”

“I have nothing against children,” Tony answered, a bit offended by the accusation. 

“When was the last time you even met a child? They’re not just tiny grownups, you know. She’s going to use words you’ve never heard before, and-”

“It’s her birthday. Her mum’s working, her dad’s out of the picture, I’m having lunch with her at the Langham’s and look after her during the lunch shift. It’s not like I’m adopting her.”

Reece made a heavy sigh. “Right, so what are you doing after having lunch? Taking her to the zoo?”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Then he got the feeling that Reece, who had two nephews and a niece, was making fun of him. “Do children still like the zoo?”

He could hear Reece smile at the other end of the line. “It’s a child. Get her a present and cake and it’ll be fine . . . The Bonesis still around?”

“Yeah, but never long enough for the police to be called. Adam doesn’t want help, so . . .”

Reece was ready to say something about how Adam constantly wanted help, but usually by bullying or forcing, never asking. 

“You can’t keep trying to solve everything in his life, Tony.” Tony didn’t answer and Reece said the only thing he could say. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. So, if you have a lunch date, does that mean you’re still free for dinner?”


	6. Invitations

Reece insisted that he would take him out for dinner the same evening. Their schedules being what they were, who knew when an another opportunity would occur? They went to a restaurant specializing in Moroccan food that Reece had been wanting to try for a while. That they didn’t serve wine and therefore Tony couldn’t critique their wine list was only a bonus. They sat down and ordered their first couple of dishes and Tony told Reece all about the lunch he had had with Lily. When he told him about trying to make Adam make a cake and Adam suggesting sorbet, Reece started laughing. 

“Wow, sorbet . . . I mean, I can’t say I blame him.” After serving someone a wonderful meal, the last thing you wanted to hear was that person ordering a big cake. “But sounds like he knows even less about children than you do. So you demanded that he’d make her a cake . . .”

“And he made her a cake,” Tony quickly filled in. “One of those big pink things. She loved it, so must know something about children. He even sat down and ate it with her. I’m telling you, I truly believe that he’s changed, well, that he’s changing.” He smiled to himself and shook his head. “Dr Rosshilde must be working her magic again.”

“Yes, I guess she must.” Reece contemplated letting it slide and let Tony believe that it probably was Dr Rosshilde’s magic, but he couldn’t. “Although, you can be pretty persuasive when you want to. If anyone has ever been able to make Adam behave and have him under control, it’s been you.”

Tony gave him a quick glance to see if he was making fun of him. “Yeah, right,” he mumbled. Then he looked up at Reece. “Don’t dismiss what she does. She’s good.”

It was no secret that Reece had thought that Tony had been overly dependent on Dr Rosshilde and had even told Tony’s dad that Tony hadn’t needed therapy, just some time to readjust after Paris. Tony hadn’t denied that getting away from Paris had been good for him, but Dr Rosshilde had really helped. He wasn’t sure he could’ve done it without her.

Reece reached for Tony’s hand on the side of the table. “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t. Just don’t dismiss what you do, what you’ve done for him.” He gently squeezed Tony’s hand, making him smile. 

The waiter came by to take their plates and give them their main courses and Reece let go of Tony’s hand. Tony smirked at him, but didn’t say anything until the waiter was gone.

“Max says that half the city knows about us.” Reece looked confused for a moment thinking that Tony was referring to himself and Adam. “About you and me.”

Reece made a light shrug. “Well, if Max says it . . . I honestly don’t think people are that interested . . . Some people may gossip, so what? Does that bother you?”

Tony shook his head. “No,” he answered truthfully. A tiny voice in the back of his head called him a liar, knowing that if Adam ever found out, hell would break loose. “He also swore that he hadn’t told you about the Bonesis . . . But he did, didn’t he?”

“As a matter of fact, he didn’t. Half the city knows about your problem with the Bonesis,” Reece answered imitating Tony’s turn of phrase. “Jokes aside, he didn’t and you need to do something about them, or I will tell your father that the police should get involved.” He put some food in his mouth, giving Tony time to oppose. 

“Do not bother him with that. He’s finally in a good mood. He says he can’t wait to hear all about your relaunch. He considers that ‘an excitement without risk’, so fully enjoyable, but less thrilling.” 

Reece smiled. “Yes, I know, he keeps asking me about it. And I told him that I will not let him in on business secretes, unless he does so first.” Tony smiled back. It had been a great relief over the years to have Reece keeping an eye on his father. “Oh, and here are some other exciting news you can share with him. Guess who’s been offered a gig in America.”

Reece was excited. He had wanted to tell Tony since he had accepted two days earlier. Tony’s eyes widened. “You’re going to America? What about here? What about your relaunch?” 

Reece looked just as surprised as Tony. “If I were moving to America, you think this is the way I’d tell you?” He shook his head. “It’s a guest gig on a cooking show, international TV. I’m going to be a guest judge in my capacity of being a ‘world renowned three Michelin star chef’.” He lingered at the words a bit. It was vain meaningless praise from the entertainment industry, but it had put him in a very good mood. “Just a couple of episodes, but the money’s amazing and my investors are over the moon. It will be long after we relaunch. You know these networks and all their contracts, everything takes forever.”

Tony leaned back in his chair. Now when the worry and surprise had subsided, he was mostly impressed and proud over his friend. “Sounds amazing . . . America.” He knew it was the first time Reece did anything over there. “You’re going there in quite a different fashion than he did.”

Reece’s right eyebrow made an unimpressive jump. “Why does it got to have anything to do with Adam?” 

Suddenly Tony felt a pang of envy. Everyone at Jean-Luc’s had seen Adam and Reece as rivals, and they had been, to begin with. But even though Jean-Luc’s kitchen hadn’t been, the world was big enough for both of them. Adam didn’t want to prove himself to Reece as much as he wanted to prove himself to the world. And though Reece and Adam both had impressive careers, Reece had never tried to copy Adam, just followed his own dreams. Ever since Reece left Jean-Luc’s, he had never let Adam be part of the equation when making his decisions or setting his next goal, not even his move to London had had anything to do with that, not really. Unlike Tony, who after two decades had a hard time shaking the habit of constantly consider Adam. 

-

_ Montgomery Reece hereby invites you to the relaunch of his restaurant. _

Tony didn’t know why he was surprised that he and Adam had gotten separate invitations. It was the done thing, even if they had both been sent to the Langham, stressing how they were both invited in their professional capacities. He wondered if Max and Michel had gotten it too. 

He guessed a part of him was surprised that Adam had been invited at all, and he already dreaded the moment Adam and Reece would be in the same room together with delicate glasses of champagne in their hands. Maybe they should go together, he thought. That way he could act as a wall, or at least have some calming influence. 

That was the only thing on his mind when he went to Adam’s room to hand over the invite and then to suggest that he wouldn’t go alone. Maybe he should have anticipated how it would all play out.

_ Your therapist has a big mouth. _It was humiliating. Not that Dr Rosshilde had told Adam about his feelings, but that Adam still had the ability to make him feel naked and vulnerable. No place to hide and just completely at the other man’s mercy. When he allowed Adam to be in his life, Adam could ask for whatever he wanted. The only way to escape Adam’s influence had been to cut him off completely, but that had been Adam’s decision, not Tony’s. All or nothing, nowhere in between, and always up to Adam. 

_ Nothing you didn’t already know. _ Adam had always known about Tony’s feelings for him. Tony had tried to figure out when it had become obvious enough for Adam to notice. Of course, by then everyone in the kitchen had noticed, so it was possible that Adam, much like Tony himself, just one day simply felt that it had always been like that. Despite the humiliation, he was proud of himself, thinking that his reaction to the confrontation had been dignified. He wasn’t sure that he would ever be completely over Adam, but he wasn’t hoping anymore, wasn’t searching for anything, excuses trying to be near him. Unless you counted him hiring Adam in the first place, which had been another decision that Adam had made rather than Tony. 

Not like at a New Year’s Eve party almost two decades ago when he at midnight had made sure to be next to Adam. As he had hoped, Adam had kissed him, him and about three others, and been so drunk it was unclear if he knew whom he was kissing. Ten minutes later Adam had disappeared with some girl and Tony had gotten ready to leave early, but had been stopped by Reece. They had ended up on the balcony, talking for hours about what they would do if they ran their own restaurant. It was the first time Reece had said that he wanted Tony to come with him when he left Jean-Luc’s. It hadn’t occurred to Tony until years later that Reece already then must have felt that Jean-Luc had made his choice. 

Tony’s phone was ringing again, and knowing he couldn’t avoid it forever, he picked up. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s me.” Reece sounded slightly distracted and there were noises in the background sounding like furniture was moving around. “Sorry it’s been such radio silence lately. Did you get my invitation?”

“Yes, we all got it.” Tony threw a look out the see through wall of his office into the kitchen where Adam was working away. They had avoided each other and Tony had decided to give Adam space. 

“I hope it was ok that I invited Adam. Sorry one second.” Tony could hear Reece giving muffled instructions before returning to him. “Sorry, I’m standing in the middle of builders and decorators, you know how it is. Anyway, felt like professional courtesy demanded it.”

“I imagine your investors expect you to invite half of London.” Reece launches had always been big affairs. “I’d been surprised if you hadn’t invited him. I told him to bring someone who’d make him behave.”

Reece was about to make a joke about if Adam had gotten a new babysitter, but something in Tony’s voice stopped him. It was the way he almost sounded purposefully distracted and ever since Adam came back Reece had been looking out for small tell-tell signs. “Don’t worry, there will be bouncers. Is everything ok?”

“He-,” he stopped, annoyed with himself. “It’s nothing.”

“Tony,” Reece warned him gently. 

Tony made a heavy sigh. “He confronted me about something.” He wanted to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t. What he and Adam had had was barely more than a regular conversation. It wasn’t like he had gotten his heart broken and his dreams shattered. That had happened years earlier, and he had recovered since then. Hadn’t he?

“One second.” Tony could here him moving about, shouting something to someone, but then it went quiet. “There, privacy. Adam confronted _ you_? About what?”

Tony wasn’t sure how to explain. “Maybe confronted is the wrong word . . . He’d been to Dr Rosshilde, and she . . . She’d mentioned my feelings for him.”

“Like he didn’t know already,” Reece muttered, wondering how Tony’s feelings suddenly had turned into something Adam wanted to talk about. Adam had ruthlessly used it against Tony time and time again. Reece also made a mental note to at a more suitable time suggest to Tony that he’d stop seeing Dr Rosshilde. “Right, what did he say then, this guy who turned up out of the blue and asked you for a restaurant?”

“Not much. I think . . . I think he might have thought I expected something in re-” Reece quickly interrupted him. 

“No, of course not, he knows you better than that.” Reece was the last person to defend Adam Jones, but he knew that Tony had been the best friend Adam had ever had. And for all his faults, and all his selfishness, Adam knew that too. This wasn’t about Tony’s potential feelings for Adam, this was about what kind of person Tony was, and Tony was not the kind of person to pressure people into dating him. “Tony, he knows you wouldn’t do that.”

Tony let out a heavy sigh. “That I’d _ hoped _ then . . . I told him that I didn’t.” He was tempted to tell Reece that he’d told Adam that he wasn’t as pretty as he once were, feeling a bit proud over that one, but decided against it, not sure Reece would believe him.

“Ok, and then what?”

“Oh, you’ll like this one.” Tony made a slight pause. “He offered to make me breakfast.”

Reece failed to suppress a laughter, and it was a real laugh, without any cynicism to it, because it was too easy to picture Adam doing just that. He remembered once in Paris when Adam at a party had called a worried Tony a baby and told him to go home. The next day, a very remorseful Adam had gone to the kitchen an hour early to make Tony’s favourite breakfast. It was rare for Adam to feel guilty, never mind apologize, but he’d always let you know with big gestures when he at least wanted to apologize for something, even if it wasn’t with words. 

“Wow, breakfast, huh? That is . . . that is something. Did you accept?”

“No.” Tony tried to sound curt, but it ended up more like an embarrassed teenager. 

“But he’s behaving? Not giving you any grief over it?” Reece didn’t expect Adam had. Adam was clean now, and sober Adam had never been that cruel to Tony. 

“He’s behaving. We haven’t spoken much since, but . . . it’s ok.”

“Good . . . You’d come though, right, to the launch?”

“I have a board meeting, about ‘what will be our next step’,” he quoted, knowing Reece would understand. Boards always had a tendency to either see total disaster, or think they’ve been promised the moon.

“Ah, but those meetings are often short and sweet. After that then . . . or has this confrontation resulted in you just avoiding Adam? Because if that’s the case, I’ll disinvite him.”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. I promise I’ll turn up after the board meeting. Save me some wine, some of the good stuff.”

Reece promised and with that they hung up.


	7. The second launch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reece is having his big relaunch and Tony meets old friends.

When Tony arrived, the party was far from over, but the crowd had lessened somewhat, and Reece was free to greet him in person. He gave him a hug, kissed him on the cheek and handed him a glass of wine.

“Glad you made it,” he mumbled with a happy smile. The relaunch had been a success and he expected great reviews in the morning. The twitter and instagram accounts already boded well. Tony took a look around, and Reece beamed with pride. 

“So what do you think?”

It was beautiful. Reece had kept surprisingly much of his white clean aesthetic, but hyper-stylized nature had taken over, soft pink, clear light blues and light wooden tones. Tony read through the menu and had his first impression confirmed.

“Very Tokyo 2012.” 

Reece couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re horrible.” Back in 2012, Reece had made a culinary trip to Japan. He’d tried to convince Tony to come with, but Tony had declined. Afterwards, Reece had only talked about Japan and Asian cuisine for months.

Tony smiled back at him. “It’s really beautiful, and innovative, and still very you.” He looked at him with pride and Reece felt he wanted to kiss him. But they didn’t do that in public.

He noticed Tony’s apprehensive glance around the room. “If it’s Adam you’re looking for, he left hours ago. Didn’t stay very long.”

Tony nodded. “So, did he behave?” he asked, mirroring Reece’s question from their last conversation. 

“Oh, yes, he had a nice woman with him, one of your chefs, I believe. Helene?” Tony nodded, trying to be an adult and happy that Adam had someone who could keep him in line, even if it wasn’t him. Reece made a contemplative nod back. “I still think it was a brave choice, letting Adam work with women again, after that-”

“He promised me he wasn’t doing that anymore,” Tony calmly reminded Reece. He had always tried to protect Adam, and his reputation, but of course Reece had heard the stories, not least from Adam himself back in Paris, and the ‘three days to sex, six days to screams and tears’ rule was well known. 

Reece gave him a doubtful look. “Well, I promise you that if he hasn’t slept with her already, he soon will . . . Though maybe not.” He looked around to make sure that no one was listening in. “Anne Marie turned up. I didn’t invite her, she came with someone else, Jocelyn Graves, you know, the food blogger. Didn’t know they knew each other. Anyway, she seemed to be doing well.” The last time Reece had seen her had been at her dad’s funeral. “She’ll be staying in London for a couple of days. Told me to tell you that she’s happy to meet up if you want.”

“How did Adam take it?” Reece smothered a sigh. Of course Tony’s first thought would go to Adam and not how he himself would react to maybe seeing Anne Marie again. 

“Oh, he seemed fine. A bit shaken maybe, I understand it didn’t end well between them, and he skipped the funeral . . . They talked for a while and then she left, and he left with Helene . . . How was your meeting?”

“Better than expected . . . This is some great wine.” Tony shook his glass, set on having a good time and not ruining Reece’s night. “Any more where that came from? And where is the delicious food your menu boasts about? Is this a restaurant or a wine bar?”

Reece laughed. “Always so demanding, come on, I’ll show you.”

They walked over to some industry people that Tony knew well, one was a food critic named Ron Carcetti, and the other, Susan Lauren, was the maître d’ at a South Korean restaurant in Soho. 

“Tony,” Susan greeted with a smile and raised her glass. “We were afraid we’d missed you. Reece said you would turn up. How are you? Isn’t it wonderful?” She gestured towards the tables. “I’ve been telling him for over a year now that he should explore the Asian kitchens a bit more.”

“A great success, no doubt. How are you?” Tony answered, happy to be with people he knew and be away from work for a while. 

“I’m well. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“It’s been very busy lately.” When he said it he once again felt a weight off his shoulders. For almost a year he’d had to see people’s sympathetic looks and half worried glances, while trying to convey that the Langham wasn’t doing too badly. Ever since Adam had turned up and after they’d managed through the rocky start, he could finally enjoy this kind of conversations. 

“I can imagine. With all the new success,” Ron said. He’d been to the Langham a couple of weeks earlier and written a very generous review, especially praising Adam’s take on Beef Bourguignon, which Ron had called “An ode to Julia Child”.

They spoke for a while and then Tony heard someone calling his name.

“Tony!” Tony turned around to see Anne Marie. Before Tony could react, Anne Marie had walked up and put her arms around him. “It’s so good to see you,” she whispered and kissed his cheek. 

“It’s good to see you too,” he mumbled back, hugging her small frame. They had had some sporadic contact through emails and calls, but they hadn’t really seen each other since her father’s funeral. Tony had been in Paris when Jean–Luc died, had actually been by the hospital bed after a panicked phone call from Anne Marie telling him that her father wasn’t going to make it. 

-

_ Tony was holding the sobbing Anne Marie, partly to comfort her and partly because he was terrified that she would run off and numb the pain with any means necessary. She had promised to go sober the moment she heard how ill her dad was. Tears were running down his own cheeks, but he barely noticed them._

_“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Anne Marie cried and Tony held her even closer. They had never been close, Tony wasn’t even sure that Anne Marie liked him very much, or that he liked her for that matter, but they had belonged to the same family and had loved the same men._

_“I know . . . Do you want me to call your mother?”_

_Anne Marie leaned back, slightly out of his arms to look up at him, but then the tears re-emerged. “God, there are so many we should call.” She put her head back to Tony’s chest. “I wish Adam was here.”_

_“I know.” Tony had done everything he could to try to reach Adam, but there hadn’t been a single person who seemed to know where he was, except that he most likely had gone back to the US._

_Tony did call Anne Marie’s mum, and Jean Luc’s other two ex-wives, and then practically anyone and everyone he could think of. He ended up planning most of the funeral with Anne Marie. _

_“I’m not going to relapse,” she promised him again and again and he chose to believe her. _

_At the funeral, Anne Marie had demanded more than requested that he would be the only one sitting next to her on the first row. “Ex-wives are more of a second row thing,” she’d declared loudly and spent the ceremony crying into Tony’s suit jacket with his arm around her. There had been discussions about who should do the eulogy and the honour had in the end gone to Jean-Luc’s cousin, who knew very little about the restaurant business, but had some great childhood memories to share. _

_There was a wake at Jean-Luc’s old apartment with his three ex-wives managing to host together surprisingly well. Half the culinary world seemed to be there, all wanting a last goodbye. Adam Jones was not mentioned, despite how important he’d been for Jean-Luc. Anne Marie did her best to be the stoic grieving daughter, but after a couple of hours she decided to find Tony and demanded that Tony would take her back to hers. _

_“I thought you were staying here,” he sort of half asked, giving an apologetic look to a restaurant owner who’d many years ago had started out at Jean-Luc’s and who had now flown from Australia to attend the funeral. Anne Marie didn’t seem to care that she was interrupting something. Her eyes widened. _

_“I am not staying in my dead father’s apartment!” she almost yelled as though he’d just insulted her. Then she calmed down and Tony saw for the hundredth time how Anne Marie changed into a very demure side of herself, lowering her voice and leaning closer, Jean-Luc’s perfect daughter, now turning to the man from Australia. “I’m sorry, I’m still coping. Could you give us a minute?”_

_Tony saw how the Australian immediately fell for it. “Yes, of course. Once again, I am so sorry for your loss. He was a great man-”_

_Anne Marie nodded with a polite smile, not really listening, while dragging Tony with her to an empty corner._

_“That’s what I’m talking about, these people. They’ll stay and talk memories until dawn, and I’m supposed to be the polite grieving daughter, and I can’t stand it . . . And I’m not meant to be alone. I’m afraid I’ll . . . I had a drink,” she finally admitted with growing panic in her eyes. “Please, Antonio, just get me out of here.”_

_She leaned into him and he placed an arm around her. That she was manipulative didn’t mean she wasn’t grieving. Besides, he had also gotten tired of the nostalgic crowd. “Give me two minutes,” he asked and she nodded in agreement. _

_He let his father and Reece know that he was taking Anne Marie home, and that he didn’t know when he would be back at the hotel. His father just nodded, saying it was only right, the poor girl had looked absolutely devastated, but Reece looked doubtful._

_“She has her mother, two stepmothers and a bunch of friends here. How come you’re the one ending up having to take care of her?”_

_“Reece, she’s just lost her father. It’s the least I can do.” But he knew what Reece was thinking. It should have been Adam’s responsibility, and Tony was once again covering up for him._

_Reece nodded with a sigh. The girl had just lost her father, it wasn’t like he could say that Tony shouldn’t take care of her. “Alright, we’ll meet you back at the hotel.” _

_Tony took Anne Marie home and got them some tea out of the kitchen. When they sat down on the living room couch, Anne Marie pulled her feet up and lit a cigarette. _

_“I’d offer you something stronger, but I try not to keep it at home.” A small smile came over Tony’s lips. _

_“Good for you,” he said, and he really meant it. He knew they’d hoped before, but this time it really felt like Anne Marie was on her way to get clean, despite the drink earlier. Anne Marie shrugged._

_“It was the least I could do. I was horrible to him,” she stated and smoked her cigarette. “All I did was let him down.” Tony was about to protest, but she wouldn’t let him. “No, it’s true, I mean, drugs, I always asked for money, and when I told him I was pregnant . . .” Despite her words, she was quite calm. Tony was leaning forward with his elbows to his knees when he felt her hand on his back. “At least he had you.”_

_“Oh, I let him down too. I left, didn’t I?” Though he didn’t really mean it. The restaurant was no more and Jean-Luc had been happy for him when he’d heard that he would go work with Reece in London. Still, he hadn’t kept in touch the way he’d planned. “I wish he would have told us he was ill.”_

_“I know, me too,” she agreed. Then she smiled. “You know, when I came to stay here with him instead of Mama, he told me about you, ‘an excellent nice young man’, ‘son of one of my best friends’ . . . He hoped we would get married and have children.”_

_He turned to look at her and he smiled too. “We heard about you long before you turned up. He kept talking about his daughter who would come to study in Paris, smart and beautiful. Then I think he threatened to kill anyone who’d dare to look at you.”_

_Anne Marie’s smile widened. “Oh, is that why you never made a pass at me?” She made a little laugh and leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. She leaned back with a thoughtful expression, her eyes were getting dim and Tony wondered if it was grief, or if she’d had more than just the one drink at the wake. “So do you have a boyfriend now?”_

_“No, not really . . . You?” It was a stupid question. She had only days before told him how much she missed Adam. _

_“No, not since . . . You were right, he did leave me in the end.”_

_Immediately Tony felt guilty. “Oh, Anne Marie, that was just . . . I only said that-”_

_“Because you were jealous?” He hadn’t meant to say jealous at all. He’d meant to say something along the lines of stressing how unreliable Adam was, and her suggestion caught him off guard. “We all knew you were in love with him.”_

_“Yes, an ill kept secret,” he admitted, not without sarcasm. He didn’t understand the accusation in her voice. He had never been a threat to her and Adam, and it wasn’t his fault that Adam had left. Maybe he could’ve done more, but Reece had half managed to convince him that it hadn’t been his responsibility. _

_“He didn’t know. He was oblivious like that, didn’t even get that you were sleeping with Reece behind his back. Not that he’d care.” She was rambling now, not making much sense and later Tony would later be convinced that she’d had something besides alcohol that evening. She’d had enough of her old friends at the wake to supply her. “You were just . . . part of his European experience, not complete without a gay friend. And you just couldn’t stand how close we were, just had this strange idea that I’d taken him from you!” She had risen from the couch and now she was shouting. “We loved each other and you couldn’t stand it! Always hanging about. Just like you were with Papa, and he only kept you around because he thought Adam listened to you! No idea where he got that idea from!”_

_Tony rose, but made sure to take a step back, away from her. “You’re right! Everybody knows I couldn’t control him. He didn’t give a damn about what I’d say, but you . . . Wasn’t he supposed to be madly in love with you?” He made a scoffing sound. He was angry and he was hurt and had probably had a glass too many. “You were mad alright, two crazy coke heads. Is it true you helped him get the rats to sabotage Michel’s restaurant? Or do you even remember that? And if he loved you so much, how come he just packed his bags and left. He didn’t even pack. He couldn’t get away from you fast enough! I guess a French girlfriend was also only a part of his European experience!”_

_At that she stormed over and raised her hand to slap him, but stopped mid blow, settling for pointing at him, her finger right by his chest. ”You’re lucky I want to be a better person,” she finally said through gritted teeth. Then she saw the tears in Tony’s eyes and she immediately put her arms around him. _

_“God, I’m sorry,” he whispered and hugged her tighter. That was no way to treat someone who’d just lost their father._

_“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just drunk. I didn’t mean it. He loved you too,” she assured him, but it was unclear to both of them who she meant._

_“I’m sorry I left.” In that moment, Tony made a promise to himself. He wouldn’t leave Paris until he’d made sure that Anne Marie was back in rehab. He owed it to Jean-Luc, and to Adam._

_“Could you stay here tonight?” Her question was barely more than a whisper_

_“On one condition.” She looked up at him. “Tomorrow, we’ll call your mother and we’ll sign you into rehab.” _

_Anne Marie made a light shrug. “Sure, it’s not like I have any other plans.”_

__

-

Reece quickly approached them, grabbing a glass of non-alcoholic champagne that he handed to Anne Marie. 

“Welcome back.” He had half a mind to ask her if she’d forgotten something, but then thought that wouldn’t be very good hosting. Anne Marie had turned up at Jean-Luc’s after Reece had left. Sure, he’d met her a couple of times and he’d listened several times to Tony’s worries over her and Adam, but he didn’t really know her. 

“Well, you told me that Tony would show up later so I decided to come back . . . Would you give us a minute?” 

Reece threw Tony a glance, and Tony made a slight nod. “Sure,” Reece said, but decided to keep and eye on them.

Anne Marie watched him walk away and then turned back to Tony with a big smile. “So how are you, Tony? I’ve heard about the new success. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. Yes, both the Langham and I are doing very well. And you? You look well.”

Anne Marie nodded and made a genuine smile. Tony was happy to see it, Anne Marie had a beautiful smile, but she’d rarely smiled at him in Paris. “I’m having a good week. Celebrating two years five months and eight days.”

Tony couldn’t help lean in and give her a peck on the cheek. “Well done . . . I heard you met Adam.”

“Yes . . .” She had heard he was in London working with Tony again, and had counted on that he’d want to come and see how his biggest rival was doing. “It was weird to see him again, but good, you know? It didn’t make me want to have a drink. He looks like he’s doing well. Not that I . . . I can’t say I remember how bad he was, but if I’m anything to go by, he was pretty far deep.”

“He’s great,” Tony confirmed with enthusiasm. “As good as he ever was, better in fact.”

Anne Marie smiled again. “I always knew you’d take care of him whenever he’d decide to come back.” Tony tried to figure out if she was giving him a compliment or calling him a pushover, but his thoughts were interrupted by Anne Marie. “I’m so happy for you . . . Listen, I heard about the Bonesis.”

When Reece had told him that half the city knew about their problem with the Bonesis, Tony had thought he’d exaggerated. But now he was starting to wonder.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be gone soon.”

Anne Marie ignored his words. “I’ll handle it.”

At first he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. Then his eyes widened. “No, absolutely not!” Realizing he’d almost yelled and people were looking over at them, he lowered his voice. “I can’t let you do that. Adam wouldn’t let you.” Adam hadn’t even let him help.

Anne Marie made a small almost amused smile. “I wasn’t planning on asking permission. I owe it to him. And I owe it to you. If you hadn’t helped Mama getting me to Milano, God knows where I’d be right now. And it’s not like I’m not at least partly responsible for that debt, so . . .”

“Anne Marie, I can’t . . .”

“Yes, you can.” She hesitated for a moment, and looked over at Reece. “So will Adam get his third star?”

Tony had barely dared to formulate the thought before, and he looked at her apprehensively. “You know it’s next to impossible to get a third star.”

“But clearly not impossible. Reece got one, and from what I hear, you helped him. So, will Adam get his third star?”

Tony dared a small nod. “I think it’s just a matter of time.” Afterwards he would be convinced that his words had jinxed it.


	8. That Horrible Night

The horror and thrill with the Michelin people were the fact that you never knew when they would turn up. You could make yourself interesting, and you could try and calculate when the Michelin people would come, but mostly it was pure guesswork. 

Reece was convinced that after his relaunch he had once again confirmed to the world that he deserved his three stars. As predicted, the reviews had been glorious, and he spent the following day in a celebratory mode with his staff. He couldn’t have done it without them, he was almost surprised that he’d managed it without Tony.

It had been a good reminder of what he could do. He’d barely wanted to admit it to himself, but Adam’s arrival had shaken him. Reece knew he was a great chef, but Adam had always been the wonder child and there was no doubt he would eventually get his third star, if he could stay sober long enough. Tony would see to it. And after that Recce could convince Tony to go on a well-deserved holiday somewhere, or maybe he should try and tell Tony that he should start dating again without him or Adam standing in the way. 

Reece’s head was so full of these thoughts that he barely heard the sounds coming from his kitchen. Still, once he heard it, his whole body tensed up and he was amazed by how his subconscious immediately knew, before his brain did, that it could only be Adam. 

He refused to hurry, but when he finally arrived and saw what state Adam was in he had to fight to remain calm. Where most of his staff saw an embarrassing euphoric drunk, he saw a bomb quickly ticking down, ready to explode. In that moment, there were so many feelings that threatened to overwhelm him, anger, worry, and even some glee. Hadn’t he known all along that it had only been a matter of time? 

Still, he couldn’t afford to feel any of that. Instead he sent Jack a stern look and quickly got rid of his staff, both to protect them and to protect Adam’s dignity. At first he’d thought he’d deal with this outburst the most efficient way to deal with a drunk Adam - to simply ignore him, but when Adam started dragging the plastic bag over his head, he quickly realised that this wasn’t a normal outburst. 

He forced himself to calmly and methodically wrestle Adam to the floor, getting him out of the plastic bag, not for a single moment acknowledging the rising panic in his chest. Something must have gone terribly wrong.

“I’m tired.” When Adam uttered the barely audible words, Reece knew Adam was ready to be taken care of. It had happened a couple of times in Paris, back when they were friends, young and stupid, and had made a real effort to take care of each other. Before ambition and the rivalry of becoming Jean-Luc’s head chef had come between them. 

Reece had never taken care of Adam they way Tony did, with unconditional love and devoted admiration. Adam had been a friend and colleague that he’d respected and had early felt close to, though he had never tolerated any of Adam’s bullshit and when he’d gone completely off the rails, Reece had quickly decided that you couldn’t help someone who didn’t want to help themself. Maybe that’s why when Adam had turned to Reece for help, which happened once in a blue moon, it had never been with the manipulation that he so often used on others, but rather like this, with open and raw vulnerability. 

Soon enough Adam was crying in Reece’s lap and Reece stroked his hair and his back, softly mumbling insults too him. 

“You stupid idiot, didn’t you say you were sober now? . . . Lunatic, we should have you sectioned . . . What was the plan? For the great Adam Jones to die on the floor in the kitchen of the great Reece Montgomery? Setting me up for your murder, did you think that would be a worthy end to our legendary rivalry? . . . What have you been up to, hmm?”

Adam kept crying, holding on to Reece. He cried with the occasional howling sound and Reece kept holding him, stroking his hair. “Shh, it’s going to be alright.”

“It’s all . . . It’s all ruined!” Adam yelled in a final outburst, and Reece took a firmer hold. 

“Shh, whatever it is you’ve screwed up now, I’m sure it will work out. It always works out for you, you ungrateful bastard. There, there, it’ll be ok.”

Two minutes later, Adam was asleep. Reece contemplated trying to get him to a bed, but decided he was too tired. He went to get a couple of towels, one for Adam’s head and one to cover him with, and an empty trashcan that he placed next to him. 

“Here’s a bucket,” he said to the seemingly sleeping Adam, but he didn’t have the heart to wake him. “If you’re sick, be sick in that, or I’ll have you clean it up in the morning. I’ll be my office, and don’t think I won’t hear you if you get up in the middle of the night and try to cause trouble.”

He stroked Adam’s hair, sighed and went to his office where there was a tent bed for emergencies such as this one. The night wasn’t done yet. He hadn’t heard from Tony, or Tony’s father, so he was fairly certain the Langham hadn’t exploded.

*Adam’s with me*

He had barely sent the text before his phone started buzzing. 

“Tony, hi-,” he began, but Tony quickly interrupted him.

“Reece, where are you? Is Adam ok? There was a- an incident and-” There was so much panic in his voice and Reece hurried to reassure him.

“He’s in a bit of a state, drunk, but otherwise fine. He’s sleeping. Are you ok? How much carnage?” Reece had been so focused on Adam, he hadn’t really taken the time to even try and guess what could have happened. 

“I’m fine,” Tony answered quickly. “Where are you? I’ll come and get him.”

Reece looked towards Adam, lying still on the floor. “Why don’t you go home and sleep, Tony? I’ll make sure you get him back in the morning.” There was no reason that Tony would have to be dragged into this as well. 

Tony cleared his throat. “I realise you’re trying to protect me, but he’s my head chef and he’s only been gone for a few hours. You should have seen him after three days running around Paris. It won’t be anything I haven’t seen before. Besides, you hate him, and he needs-” He paused, not quite sure how to continue. “He could use a friend right now.”

“Ok, listen, whatever has happened, you clearly don’t want to talk about it right now, but just tell me, will you and the Langham be ok?”

“Yes,” Tony answered. The bad review would be a hard blow, but they had had such success lately, they would survive it, even if Adam wouldn’t get his third star. 

“Good, then you go home and go to sleep, and I’ll be a friend to Adam . . . I’ll even make him breakfast in the morning.”

“Reece, I . . .” Tony was trying to hold back, knowing that Reece would think him a hopeless case in regards to Adam. But then he gave up and decided to just say it. “He needs kindness and support . . . He- he probably just lost his chance to a third star.” 

There was desperation in Tony’s voice and Reece thought that Adam wasn’t the only one who needed kindness and support. Of course Tony was concerned over the Langham’s big investment, that he needed Adam to keep things running, but it had become clear over the months how much he’d missed Adam. At first Reece hadn’t really been able to believe it, that it was just the remains of a childish crush. But it had become clear that it wasn’t that, at least not only that, and Reece had had to face that in the time between him leaving Paris and Tony coming back to London, Adam had probably been Tony’s closest friend – poor Tony. 

“How about, I’ll be kind and supportive . . . and I’ll remind him that he is an amazing chef?” Reece suggested.

“You promise?” Tony sounded tired and Reece knew he’d got him. 

Reece made his voice the softest he could. “I promise, I’ll assure him that he’s the best chef in whole wide world. Now you promise me that you go home and go to bed.”

“I will, and Reece . . . I know you already know this, and that half the world is telling you this right now, but you’re amazing, and I wouldn’t be so sure about Adam being the best chef in the whole wide world.”

“Tony, you’re making me blush . . . but thank you, that means a lot coming from you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

-

Reece’s true intention had been to keep an eye on Adam, give him breakfast and then make sure he was ok to return to the Langham. He hadn’t really meant that part about telling Adam that he was the best chef in the whole world, but then he heard himself say it. 

“You’re better than me . . . which makes you the best.” 

It wasn’t just that he wanted to comfort Adam, though the look of surprise and gratitude on Adam’s face had been worth it. That morning in his kitchen, Reece saw what he thought that Tony saw, what Jean-Luc probably had seen, the promises and possibilities, the man who wanted to be good and kind as well as the best in the world.

The truth was that there were things that made Adam better than him, mostly because Adam always managed to make things twice as hard for himself. Reece also knew that there were things that made him better than Adam. Maybe Tony was right and the two of them could coexist. 

“But the rest of us need you to lead us to places we otherwise wouldn’t go.” Reece heard himself and thought that it sounded forced. It was true that many saw Adam as an inspiration, but Recce hadn’t been spurred on by Adam since he moved to London. He should have stopped with that Adam was the best. But Adam looked like him like he was an undeserving sinner and Reece was the archangel, so he decided so say another nice thing to him that he had been thinking of.

“I know you didn’t listen to me when I told you to leave Tony and his father alone . . . I’m glad you didn’t.”

Adam looked down at his plate again. “Maybe it would’ve been better if I had. You probably won’t believe me, but I did come back to make amends, and now . . . I’ve let Tony down, and that . . . I have this list of people where I wish I’d done things differently. He’s on it.”

Reece took another drag from his cigarette. “As he should,” he answered almost sternly, which made Adam look up with an almost defiant look.

“You’re not.”

Reece couldn’t help but laughing. Adam was just so . . . Adam. “I didn’t expect to be.”

His answer seemed to confuse Adam. “Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me.”

Reece let his head fall back, smiling to the ceiling, before he looked back at Adam and walked closer to him. “I don’t hate you, Adam. I did miss you, all of you, even you, when I stopped working for Jean-Luc. I mean, it was a fucking relief, but . . . You’re probably one of the best and worst thing that’s happened to most people you meet, me included. You’re certainly one of the best and worst things that’s happened to Tony.”

“You’ve kept an eye on him, haven’t you? He said he worked for you when he came over here.”

Reece shrugged and put out his cigarette. “Well, I’ve tried to.”

There was a flash of surprise and something inquisitive across Adam’s face and Reece realised he might have said too much. “Speaking of the Langham people, they’re probably wondering where you’ve gone. You better finish that and go.”

Adam put his head to the side and studied Reece carefully. “Are we friends now?”

Reece smirked. “You mean you want to stop being bitter rivals?”

Adam smirked back. “I thought you weren’t interested in that kind of rivalry . . . Friendly rivalry?”

“Sounds good to me.”


	9. Three Stars

Adam was barely through the door before Reece called Tony. 

“Hi,” Tony answered. “How did things go last night?” He sounded surprisingly calm considering the chaos from the night before.

“They were kept under control. How are you? I’ve worried about you all night,” Reece admitted.

“I’m fine. No need to worry about me.”

“So what happened last night?”

Tony sighed and decided to give Reece the short version: Michelin men had come, everyone made sure to do their absolute best, and then Michel had decided to make Adam pay for the rats Adam had set loose in Michel’s restaurant back in Paris. He left out that Adam had been beaten up by the Bonesis shortly before service and that before Reece had called Tony to let him know where Adam was, Tony had been searching for Adam all over London. 

“Wow . . . with that in mind, Adam’s reaction was almost restrained.” He paused, thinking about the wreck he had taken care of last night. “So did he try to kill Michel?”

“No . . . He just sort of . . . fell apart . . . He didn’t trash your place, did he?”

“No, no . . . Made a bit of a fool of himself in front of my staff and robbed me of some sleep, but other than that he was fine . . . I can’t believe Michel did that.” He thought about the Michel he’d known from Paris. “But then if Adam had done that to me, I probably would have killed him.” Reece hadn’t known Adam during his worst years, but the second hand information had been enough to make a picture. Still, no one deserved what Adam had been through last night. Tony definitely didn’t. “You should call them.”

“Who? The police?” Tony asked confused and for the hundredth time that day, he tried to figure out if Michel had done something strictly illegal. “Michel is already fired. I’d be surprised if he tries to collect his last pay check.”

Reece was taken aback for a second. Calling the police was probably a sounder reaction, but as a chef he had other priorities. “No, the Michelin people.” When Tony expressed his doubts, Reece spurred on. “You could always try. Do you think this is the first time they will have heard about sabotage?”

“I’ll try,” Tony promised, but didn’t sound very hopeful. 

“Good, and now, just to put your mind at ease, ask me,” Reece encouraged. 

Tony swallowed a sigh. He had been worried about Adam, but he trusted Reece and when Reece had told him that Adam was fine, he had actually managed to get some sleep. “How’s my head-chef?”

Reece delivered the answer he’d prepared. “Surprisingly well, very remorseful. I made him breakfast.”

He could practically hear Tony’s reluctant smile through the phone. “Very nice of you.”

“And I told him that he was the best chef.”

“Liar,” Tony mumbled back, still smiling, which made Reece smile.

“Yes, but you should now call the Michelin people.”

-

Later in the evening, Reece got a text. *No Michelin people in London last night. Thank you.*

Reece looked at the text for a minute and let the information sink in. No Michelin people had been in London last night, never mind at the Langham. Michelin people had not had a bad experience and would therefore not give Adam an unfavourable review. He let out a laugh of disbelief. Adam Jones was definitely the luckiest bastard on the planet. And after last night and this morning, he couldn’t even be angry about it.

*Where r u now?*

*At home*

Without answering, Reece picked up his car keys and drove to Tony’s flat. He practically ran up the stairs and then leaned on the doorbell until Tony opened the door in his dressing gown. 

“Hi,” Tony looked surprised, but happy to see him. 

“I’m not sure ‘congratulations’ is the right word, but congratulations.” He pulled Tony in to kiss him. Still kissing, they went back into the flat, closing the door after them. Finally Tony took a step back smiling. 

“I’m still not sure if I fully believe it . . . or if I would have called them if it wasn’t for you.” He gave Reece another kiss. “Thank you. Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“Coffee would be nice.” Reece leaned in and kissed Tony again and gently pulled his dressing gown. “Maybe later?” Coffee could wait. 

They were lying in Tony’s big bed and Reece let his finger go through his hair. Tony was looking out the window. London had sun for once and he enjoyed being in Reece’s embrace.

“Once in Paris, you told me you wanted to lock Adam up in a kitchen, and just let him work and be the best he could be, protected from himself,” Reece said, playing with Tony’s hair. 

Tony let out a little laugh. Sometimes it was good to be reminded how naïve he had been, how eager he’d been to protect Adam. He still was, but he liked to believe that he’d matured since then. “I must have been particularly drunk,” he concluded.

Reece smiled into Tony’s hair at the memory. “You were, but that’s not the point . . . I know that’s basically what you’ve tried to do for him, but . . . You need protecting, Tony.”

“From what?” Tony asked, though he could guess.

“What you are protecting everyone else from, the worries and the troubles.” Worries and troubles related to Adam, the Langham, living up to his father’s expectations. “You deserve taking care of.”

“By you?” The question was partly mocking, partly sincere and partly hoping. He turned in Reece’s embrace to look at him. Reece looked perfectly sincere. 

“By me, or by some other handsome man. Don’t get me wrong, you’re one of the strongest people I know, but you don’t have to do it all on your own.”

Tony looked doubtful. “Now are you telling me that I should find some other handsome man . . . or is this . . . What is this?” He wasn’t very forceful, but he wanted to know. 

Still half-lying down, Reece kissed Tony’s shoulder. He had always liked his shoulders. He had thought about this for a while. There were a lot of things that he wanted, but he could also guess what would happen next. “Now when you know it wasn’t the Michelin people, this whole crazy circus with Adam’s third star will continue.”

Tony sat up in the bed. “That’s a separate issue. Don’t avoid the question.”

Slowly, Reece sat up too. He thought for a moment and then he spoke. “I’ve been thinking about it since you broke up with Paul.” Tony had been seeing Paul for almost six months and Reece had thought that maybe that had been the end to his and Tony’s on and off thing. Then Tony had decided to end it just a few weeks before Adam turned up and Reece had hoped that maybe he had had something to do with it. “But then there was Adam, and then your relaunch and then my relaunch.” 

Reece made an almost sad smile and put his hand to Tony’s cheek and looked him deeply in the eye. “I love you. Not in a ‘we’ve been friends forever and I always want you in my life’-kind of way. Well, that too, but I love you, as in I’m in love with you and I want us to stop seeing other people and be an ‘us’.” Tony was quiet, which worried Reece and he dropped his hand from Tony’s cheek. “Is it really that much of a surprise?” he mumbled.

A smile started spreading across Tony’s face and he slowly shook his head. “No, not at all . . . I love you too, you know.” He owed Reece so much. In Paris, Reece had been the best friend a guy could have, taking it upon himself to look after him, to protect him, and had taken him to all the gay bars in Marais. Sometimes Tony wondered if he would have managed without him. And then in London, he had continued being a good friend, whenever Tony had let him. Whether it had been keeping an eye on Tony’s father when Tony was still in Paris, or making sure that Tony’s transition to London was as good as it ever could have been. No wonder he had fallen in love with him.

“The last year has been crazy, and you’ve always been there for me.” Then he was smiling so big he almost couldn’t speak. This was too much happiness in one day. “But just so we’re clear, you’re asking me to move in with you?”

Reece smiled a big smile and kissed Tony. “Move in together, tell your dad, get a cat, the whole thing.”

Tony laughed. “First of all, we’re not getting a cat. Second, I’m pretty sure Papa already thinks we’re together, and third,” he paused and his voice turned more serious, “We should try this before we, you know, tell our investors that we’re moving in with the competition, or tell other people.”

“Before we tell Adam, you mean.” Reece did his outmost to be understanding and not annoyed. After all, Tony had just said that he felt the same way. 

Tony nodded. “I just want to find the right moment, and possibly . . .”

“Wait until he’s achieved a third star? What if that takes years?”

“Give it three months,” Tony asked with a conviction that Reece couldn’t oppose. 

Reece agreed and they found that the weeks flew by. Adam was a like a new person, attentive, helpful, nice throughout service, with a completely different leadership style. And Reece didn’t have to wait three months. Two months after the night they thought everything had gone to hell, the Michelin people, the real Michelin people, paid the Langham a visit. 

The Langham celebrated for a week straight and Tony and Adam immediately started planning for the next step. They were sitting in the kitchen planning for the future for nights on end. It felt very much like when they had had similar conversations in Paris whenever Adam had a couple of good weeks. What was the next step? What did they want? What would the future hold?

Tony was in the middle of explaining his new ideas for the next season when he found Adam staring at him. 

“What?” he asked, slightly blushing. 

Adam smiled. “I know I’m probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.”

Tony smiled back, shaking his head. “And one of the best,” he filled in, echoing one of the nicest things Reece had ever said about Adam that wasn’t cooking related.

Adam placed a hand on top of Tony’s. “When I came here, I know I said I would make amends for Paris and get my third star. But I don’t want you to think that I think I’m done.” Tony nodded and waited for Adam to continue, sensing there was more he wanted to say, but Adam didn’t. Instead Adam looked down at the menu and put on a lighter tone. “Speaking of stars, Helene showed a piece the other day that called this your sixth star.”

Tony frowned, but then got it and shook his head, almost blushing again. “Journalists that don’t know what they’re talking about.” He knew the article Adam was referring to, a nice one that had mainly focused on Adam of course, but towards the end had mentioned Tony and had called him a ‘Michelin whisperer’. Reece had showed it to him and despite that it was an article focusing on Adam Jones, Reece had decided to save the article. 

Adam smiled at Tony. “No, I agree with them, all of those stars are as much yours as ours.”

Tony looked up at Adam and smiled back. Mostly because it was a nice compliment, but also because he was happy to notice how both Reece and Adam could now refer to one another or even mention each other by name without it having to be an insult. That didn’t mean they didn’t argue and criticise each other, but they had done plenty of that even as friends in Paris. 

Not much had changed between Reece and Tony since their big conversation. They saw each other more regularly, they said I love you every once in a while, but they kept being an official secret rather than an official couple. The only difference was that Reece had started to drop by every now and then at the Langham. Not very often of course, he was a busy man, but sometimes he dropped by a couple of hours before service and sometimes even with a reservation. 

When he was there he often spoke with Max and Adam, talking a lot of fond memories from the Paris years. Then he could also often steal a couple of minutes with Tony. It was clear that Adam thought this was part of making peace and even mentioned to Helene how it was nice that Reece would turn up and keep an eye on him. 

“Maybe he feels that because he saved my life he’s somehow now responsible for it,” Adam joked and Helene forced a smile, but after service she asked to speak with Tony alone in his office. 

“I know this is none of my business,” she started, making sure the door was shut. Tony looked sceptical, not sure if he wanted to hear whatever it was Helene had on her mind. She took a deep breath. “You should tell Adam about Reece, I mean, even I know about it.”

Tony looked annoyed and then surprised. “How?”

“Female intuition,” she answered and Tony nodded. Helene folded her arms, put her head to the side and looked at him like he was a bit stupid. “And I saw you getting into Reece’s car the other night and you kissing him in the car . . . then I asked Max about it.”

“Max had no business telling you anything,” Tony mumbled from the other side of the desk, a bit annoyed to hear that Helene had been spying on him. Max and Jack were the only ones they’d told. Reece had firmly told Tony he would not lie about them to Jack and with Max it had just slipped out one night when he was having a drink with Tony and Reece. 

“I more or less had to force him,” Helene admitted. “Listen, I respect your privacy.” Tony wasn’t sure he agreed. “I don’t know Reece very well, but he seems like a nice guy. I mean, he saved Adam’s life and you are clearly in love with him . . . I’m sure Adam would be happy for you, like you’re happy for us.”

The problem was, even though a part of Tony was happy for Adam and Helene, there was still a part that wasn’t. That tiny voice that sometimes would make itself heard and ask him what this woman had that he didn’t. The answer was always painfully obvious. 

“You know it’s more complicated than that. For one, we’re competitors, and it’s still pretty early days.” He stopped himself, partly because he felt he’d started sounding like a broken record, but also because he wasn’t sure he wanted to have this conversation with Helene. “I will tell Adam, I’m just waiting for the right time. Can I trust that you’ll leave that to me?”

Helene nodded. “I won’t tell him, but . . . just one more advice that you didn’t ask for.” She looked at Tony with serious eyes. Tony wished she would just go away. “As I said, I don’t know Reece very well, but I know if it were me, I don’t know for how long I would put up with being kept a secret.”


	10. Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter

Despite that he was happy that they seemed to be friends again, Max was just waiting for the moment when Adam and Reece would have a proper confrontation. That Reece and Tony had now decided to become a real couple more or less guaranteed it. When it finally happened, it was on a regular Tuesday and he wasn’t even there. 

The Langham had been forced to close for the day due to a burst pipe in the kitchen and Reece had hoped that meant he could convince Tony to have dinner with him. Tony had told him that he couldn’t, but after a couple of glasses of wine with a friend at a nearby bar, Reece decided it was a good idea to pay the Langham a visit.

Tony greeted him, but said that he did have a lot of work to do and reluctantly left Reece with Adam, who, possibly out of sheer boredom, volunteered to act host, bringing them a bottle of wine. Of course Adam was sticking to his non-alcoholic beer. Soon they had what could’ve been described as a polite conversation, all under Tony’s watchful eye from the back office with an open door. 

As so many times before, the conversation made a turn for memory lane and Adam, always having to overdo things, said something about that in the end he was happy that Tony had eventually gone back to London. 

“Didn’t we always joke that sooner or later he would come back here?” They hadn’t. Adam had on several occasions done his best to make Tony feel guilty and had had him promise that he would not leave Paris. Reece tried to appreciate the sentiment at least and nodded in agreement looking towards Tony.

“Yes, I think he needed . . . I guess what we all need eventually, a bit of time and space to create his own life on his own terms.” It sounded like platitudes, but it was much nicer than saying that Tony had finally been able to put his life back together after Adam had shattered his entire existence. He was also starting to feel the alcohol a bit and wondered if it had been wise to let Adam bring him a whole bottle.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. To be totally honest with you . . . I always felt a bit guilty, you know.” It was only half a lie, a sort of afterthought. “I mean, I didn’t mean to, but I guess that he was in love with me stopped him from having proper relationships.”

Though he didn’t tell Reece, Adam was actually happy to have heard that Tony was seeing someone, though no one had told him who it was yet. Helene had suggested something and he suspected that Max also knew more than he was letting on.

For a moment Reece just stared at Adam in disbelief. Then, still looking at Adam, he pointed at Tony and practically shouted. 

“He . . . You pompous self-centred bastard! You do realise he had boyfriends in Paris?” Adam’s gaze flickered to Tony, who had clearly heard Reece and now looked like he most of all wanted to disappear through a hole in the floor. Then Adam looked back at Reece, trying to remain calm, to not go with first reaction and shout back at him. He was happy to hear that when Tony didn’t need to look after him all the time, he had found time for actual relationships. 

“I’m trying to tell you, after I left, I didn’t stay in touch with-” Reece quickly interrupted him, shaking his head, his voice becoming more and more aggravated, but also clearer, as though he was talking to someone particularly stupid. 

“No, not after you left. When you were there. When we all were there, and I’m sure after we left, Little Tony had boyfriends.” He purposefully used the nickname Adam had given the youngest member of their little crew to make him understand that this hadn’t been a recent development. “Axel, Pascal, Eric, and whatever else they were called.”

They could hear a careful uncomfortable cough, and Tony spoke up, now having come out of his office. “Could we please use a normal tone of voice, and not talk about my ex-boyfriends?” he asked with a tone that only proved he didn’t expect to be listened to. He was subsequently ignored. 

Adam’s face shone of mistrust. “You met these boyfriends?” he asked Reece, who had now managed to calm down and had gotten an almost mean look in his eyes. Ever since he and Tony had decided to be a couple, jealousy had tended to mix with his protective feelings, with bad results, especially when mixed with Adam and alcohol.

“_You _ met some of them. Clearly you were too ignorant to realise. And after they met you we rarely saw them again.”

“Reece,” Tony practically begged, and Reece actually shut up and tore himself from Adam. He looked over at the miserable looking Tony and quickly made his way over and grabbed his shoulders to make him look at him. 

“I’m sorry, Tony. I know we all believe in change, but . . .” He couldn’t say what he wanted to say, that he felt that Adam still had a grip over Tony’s heart and that he sometimes doubted if Tony would ever tell Adam, or move in with him. They clearly weren’t getting the cat. Instead Reece pointed at Adam. “He doesn’t care about you, not where he’s not himself involved. He’s not _ interested _ in you, other than where he himself is involved. Just because he’s not an alcoholic sex-addicted drug-addict anymore does not mean he’s good for you. Now, tell me you know that.” 

Tony didn’t answer. Instead he sent Adam an angry look. “How many bottles did you take?” 

Reece scoffed, already tired of the situation, but also aware that he would soon say something he’d regret. “We’ll talk later.”

“What, you think you can say all that, and then just leave? No, whatever you have to say, say it now,” Adam demanded, getting tired of Reece’s bullying.

Reece threw him a look and then looked back at Tony. “Tony?” When Tony didn’t answer, Reece sighed. “Don’t you think it’s time to . . . ? You know what, just call me.” He then paused, knowing he had crossed a line, until Tony made a slight nod. Reece made a slight nod back, gave him a gentle pat on the cheek and an even gentler smile. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, threw Adam and angry look and then left. 

Adam watched him disappear through the door and then turned to Tony, not really sure what had just happened and even less sure what to say. He didn’t know which one of Reece accusations to start with, or which of all the questions that had popped up in his head. Tony gave him a faint smile. 

“Typical Reece, always playing the big brother.” He tried to make it sound light, but failed tremendously. “If you were going to give him that much to drink, you should have given him something to eat.”

Adam still didn’t know what to say, where to start. Part of him was jealous. He had always thought of himself as a sort of big brother to Tony, though of course he knew he’d been acting far too irresponsibly to actually live up to that title. He wanted to ask about these boyfriends, but he couldn’t remember any of these guys that Reece claimed that he had met. He couldn’t remember that he’d met any of Tony’s friends from outside the kitchen. He hadn’t thought there were any such friends. 

“I guess he was about to say ‘time to move on’, aimed at me, right?” Tony didn’t think so, but didn’t correct Adam. “I guess it hasn’t all been your therapist then. Reece’s helped you out?”

Tony took a deep breath. “I guess . . .” 

“Been lying on his couch too?”

Tony almost dropped his jaw, but then realised Adam only meant it as a metaphor. “Not really . . . In Paris he helped me getting drunk and then go to some club in Marais. Here in London he has on occasion cooked me dinner, sometimes setting me up with someone. You know we worked together for a while.”

“Right . . . I didn’t know you were that close back then . . . So, what, Reece has a lot of gay friends and has some sort of set up scheme?” Adam asked in disbelief, and at the same time stopping himself from asking Tony whose cooking he preferred. 

Tony made a tight smile. After what had just transpired he did not want to tell Adam that he and Reece were now a couple, a real couple. This was definitely not the right time. “No, Adam, when he does that, he does it for me, because he cares about me.” 

“So you mean, it’s not a set up scheme, Reece just thinks I’m a selfish bastard for not being in love with you?” There was an accusation in his tone. Tony knew Adam didn’t feel responsible for his feelings towards him, and why would he? But then there were others who thought that Adam had been less than considerate of those feelings. 

“No, Adam.” This time, Tony’s voice was sterner. “I mean he’s taken care of me, been a good friend. It has nothing to do with you.”

“And these guys, Pascal and Alex-”

“Axel,” Tony quickly corrected him and then let out another deep sigh. It had been a long day, and he was not in the mood to update Adam on the last 20 years of his love life. “I’m tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

-

The next day, Adam went to see Reece. Of course the bastard pretended to be busy and had Adam wait by a tale for a good 15 minutes in the restaurant before he came out to see him. 

“Adam, an unexpected pleasure.” He paused for a bit. “Listen, I’m sorry about yesterday. I drank too much and overreacted . . . Are you hungry?” Adam politely declined the offer of having to complement Reece’s food. Reece sat down by the table in the empty restaurant, with a knowing look. “If I can’t feed you, what can I do for you?”

“Tony told me that you sometimes set him up with people.” It wasn’t a question and neither of them seemed to have an idea of what kind of answer Adam expected from Reece. After a moment of awkward silence, Adam looked up. “Does he have a type?”

Reece burst up in smile. “What do you want to know? If they all look like you: tall, dark and handsome?”

“Do they?” Adam asked, far more sincere than the occasion asked for. Reece leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I guess they’ve all been handsome. I mean, Tony is not an unattractive guy, he can have his pick.”

“I’m sure he can,” Adam mumbled. 

“Not that he’s shallow, but if he has a type . . .” He was teasing, pretending to think really hard about it, but then decided it couldn’t hurt to be at least a little bit truthful. He thought of the men Tony had dated over the years. “They all tend to be a bit like him: well-educated, well-dressed and well-mannered. So not much like you.” The last part was added in jest and Adam smiled back at him.

“Were they the same in Paris?” He asked with all the humbleness of a recovering drug-addict, knowing it was something he should know, but also in full acceptance why he didn’t. 

Reece made a scoffing sound. “Do you still date the same kind of people you did when you were seventeen? In Paris there were all sorts, young horny teenagers like him, but other than that . . . the only thing they had in common was that they’d gone to the same club. Then with the boyfriends . . . Yeah, maybe they were more like the ones he’s dated here in London.” He took a long examining look at Adam. “I’ve never been under the impression that he’s trying to replace you, if that’s what you’re asking, not in Paris and not here in London, no narcissistic Americans with deep blue eyes and a horrible temper.”

“They’re nice then?” Reece was surprised to notice that Adam sounded honestly concerned. 

“Most of them,” Reece answered non-committedly and leaned forward with a questioning look. “What is that you really want to know?” 

Reece held his breath, wondering what he should tell Adam, if Adam actually asked. But Adam didn’t say anything. 

“Adam, Tony’s a good man, and that’s why I’m telling you, tread carefully, and if you can’t do that, then back off. After all he’s done for you, and after all you’ve put him through, he deserves better.” He threw a look at his watch. “I’m afraid that’s all the time I have for now. Please come back soon, preferably hungry.”

-

A couple of weeks later, a tall blonde man came into the still closed and therefore empty restaurant with Kaitlin on his tail. Adam looked up from where he was sitting looking over the menus.

“Is there a problem?” he called over to Kaitlin and the two people stopped and looked over at him.

“No problem, chef,” Kaitlin quickly replied and then turned back to the blonde man who looked to be the same age as Adam. “Please, Mr Stein, he’s not here.”

“If you don’t mind, Kaitlin, I’ll have a look myself.” Adam had quickly had enough, and rose from the table and marched over.

“I’ll handle this, Kaitlin.” Kaitlin gave him an uncertain look, but then decided she’d rather not argue and walked out of the restaurant back to her office. Mr Stein eyed Adam up and down.

“I don’t believe we have met. Paul Stein,” he extended his hand and Adam shook it. “I’m looking for Antonio.”

“Well, I’m Adam, Tony isn’t in yet.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I could leave him a message.”

Paul looked almost confused for a second. “You’re the new chef, Adam Jones.” It was a half question. Adam nodded a confirmative and Paul made a small smile that was friendly, if a bit oblivious. “It’s nice to meet you. Apparently you are a really big deal, or so I’ve been told.”

“You don’t know who I am then?” Adam asked before he could stop himself. It was an arrogant question, but frankly, he had gotten used to that everyone he met at the Langham knew whom he was. Paul didn’t seem offended.

“No, not really my area of interest. I mean, I like good food and can probably tell a good restaurant from a bad one.” Adam suspected that he couldn’t. “But that’s all Antonio’s domain. I’m a lawyer and my hobby is climbing, but I guess we all must eat.”

Adam had to bite his tongue, which resulted in an awkward silence before Paul continued. “Well, as you might know, I’m the boyfriend, or was.” There was a slight pause before he muttered, “Apparently not.” 

Then they could both hear hurried footsteps and soon Tony had appeared at the door. “Paul! What are you doing here?”

Adam tried not to jump to conclusions and be annoyed at Kaitlin for texting Tony, though that was obviously what had happened. Paul threw a look at Adam before he answered. “I thought you’d be pleased to see me. I came by to tell you that I’m back in London, and I-” Another uncertain look at Adam. “Well, I’ve come to ask you for dinner, tonight if possible.”

Tony didn’t give Adam as much as a glance, but instead looked at Paul with annoyance. “Paul, I told you, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You’re right, 90% of what I talk about is food, wine or the restaurant. That hasn’t change in the last year and it’s not going to change, so . . .”

“But you enjoy other things too. I’ve really thought about it. So, ok, I promise I’ll never try to make you climb a mountain again, but . . .”

Tony was about to answer that he’d moved on, but in an honest attempt to help, for which Tony would never thank him, Adam decided to pipe in. “They do say it helps if you have shared interests.”

Paul looked at him with irritation. “Oh, come on, so just because I’m not a chef, or have invested in a restaurant, and know all there is about the latest Argentinian Chinese Romanian kitchen, I can’t . . .” He shook his head, still looking at Adam. “I guess that means you also think that dating me was a complete waste of his time and that he should just go back to Montgomery.”

Tony’s eyes widened and Adam looked confused at Paul. “Montgomery?” But then he got it and looked at Tony with disbelief. “Reece?! There’s something going on between you and Reece?”

To Paul’s credit, he looked honestly embarrassed. “I . . . I should go. Sorry, Antonio, I didn’t mean to . . . Call me, if you want.” He hurried out and left the two men alone. 

“Please tell me I just completely misunderstood that last part.”

“Adam,” Tony warned, but Adam didn’t want to be warned. 

“I mean, you told me you were friends, and clearly closer than you first let on . . . Holy fuck, you are sleeping with him, aren’t you?”

“Adam, for Christ’s sake!” Adam was just staring at him like he had grown an extra head. “Yes! Ok, yes, Reece and I-” Adam didn’t want to hear the rest, but stormed out, hearing Tony calling after him. “Adam! Adam! You have service in two hours!”

Much like Paul had done with Kaitlin, Adam swiftly ignored the annoying man trying to stop him from getting to Reece. He found him in the back office, and he must have gotten a heads up, because he looked perfectly calm and asked that they were to have a moment alone. 

“It’s alright, Jack.” Jack hesitated, but left them alone and Reece turned to Adam. “So Paul is back in London,” he said with a smile that pissed Adam off. 

“All this time, you were telling me not to take advantage of him, and you-”

“Wow, wait, Adam. I have not taken advantage of him. We are friends and I guess it evolved to something . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence. Adam couldn’t quite believe he wasn’t doing more to deny it. 

“Then why keep it a secret?”

“It’s not much of a secret. I mean, people know, you mean why we didn’t tell you?” Reece asked with clear disdain. If Adam had been a better friend, Tony wouldn’t have been so worried about telling him. “Frankly, it wasn’t any of your business. And in Paris, it’s not like you cared-”

“In Paris? You didn’t-”

“Oh, don’t look so surprised,” Reece almost scolded, really getting tired of Adam’s ego trips. “You didn’t know whose bed you were in half the time. Why would you have been able to keep track of any of the rest of us?”

Adam looked like he had caught Reece being the worst kind of criminal. “Did Jean-Luc know?”

Reece shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t think he cared, but I think he guessed something when I came to bring Tony back to London.”

He was baiting Adam and they both knew it. Adam really wanted to ask why Reece had been the one to take Tony back to London. 

“Does Tony’s father know?” His voice was almost impossibly low, and Reece couldn’t help but giving him a satisfying smile.

“What do you think?”

Before Adam could answer, there were the sounds of quick steps and then Tony rushed through the door. 

“Adam! Are you planning to skip service over this?” He asked with the rhetorical tone of an annoyed parent.

Adam kept his gaze on Reece, ignoring Tony. Tony looked from Adam to Reece, trying to assess the damage, and then sent Reece a questioning look.

“Oh, Adam’s just realised that the whole world knew part from him, and if he’d only pulled his head out of his arse and cared about anyone but himself for long enough, he would have known too,” Reece explained, not being able to resist twisting the knife just a bit.

Tony made a deep sigh. “Adam, that’s not true. We . . .”

“He’s even met the parents.” There wasn’t even enough energy in him to make the words sound sarcastic. He was so confused, didn’t even know why he reacted this way. Neither did Tony. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Then he turned to Reece. “What did you tell him?”

Reece shrugged. “He asked if your father knew about us. I suggested that he did.”

“That sounds pretty official, Tony.” Adam’s confusion visibly slowly subsided to be replaced by the feeling of betrayal. 

Reece rose from his chair and walked over to stand next to Tony as some sort of bodyguard, not shielding him, but ready to protect him if necessary. Finally, Tony spoke and there was a sort if meekness in his tone, a gentleness that asked for understanding.

“Papa has been ill for a long time. You know this . . . Sometimes he worries about me. Knowing Reece has helped. Lets him know I’m not alone.”

Once again Adam was reminded of that despite all his improvements and how well things had turned out, he was still a fuck up. He wished that he could have been the one who could assure Tony’s father that Tony had someone to help him, someone he could rely on. Instead he was a risky investment, a chance that needed to be regularly controlled for drugs and cause of worry.

“Adam, for once in your life, forget your stupid pride, forget that you don’t like me, and just think of this as something that is good for Tony.” Reece had dropped the tone that was out to hurt and now, just like Tony, just sought understanding. “If I hurt him, I promise you that you can fight me, but not over this.”

Adam didn’t react, didn’t look at Reece or Tony, but simply turned around and walked out. 

Tony was about to run after, but then turned to Reece. 

“He wasn’t meant to find out like this. I was going to tell him . . .”

Reece nodded and put his arm around Tony. “It’s been a long time coming. So if Adam now knows, does that mean we can tell investors and we can start fighting over which flat to move into?”

Tony let out an involuntary laugh and leaned into Reece, then reached up and kissed him. “Yes, let’s do that. I’m sorry it took so long . . . I better go and find him and drag him back to work.”

For once, Tony didn’t have to search long, but found Adam by the Themes, the same place where Adam had gone to wait for Tony when they achieved the third star. Tony approached him slowly.

“Are you really that pissed off?” he asked with a mixture of begging and annoyance.

Adam didn’t look at him, but out on the water, but at least he answered. “I always thought it was you and me in Paris, us against the world. That was what was on my mind when I came to London. That we needed each other.”

He slowly turned to face Tony and Tony took a step forward. “And we do. I can’t tell you how happy I was when you turned up. I’d missed you. I had worried about you.”

“But Reece gave you things I couldn’t?”

Tony made a heavy sigh. “Not everything is about sex, Adam.”

“I know! I mean . . . I meant, I don’t know, stability? Someone you can count on? Someone who’s good to you?”

Tony couldn’t help but smile. “We, you and I, have managed to turn the Langham into a three star restaurant. I put my father’s lifework in your hands, so don’t tell me that I don’t count on you, because I do. I have done so since I was 17. And yes, people have called me crazy because of it . . . Who cares? I know you will never feel the way about me that I felt about you, I came to terms with that a long time ago, and yes, maybe Reece helped with that. But I also came to terms with that I need you in my life.”

Adam walked up to Tony and for a second Tony wondered if Adam would try to kiss him again. Instead Adam embraced him. 

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Adam mumbled. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making that up to you.”

Tony hugged him back. “Good, you can start by going back to the kitchen and do your job.”

Adam laughed and let go. It was a big heartfelt laugh, and Tony knew that they were going to be ok. 

“He is though, right? Good to you?” Adam asked and Tony could tell how much he tried. 

Tony smiled and nodded. “Yes, he’s very good to me.”

“Good!” Adam replied and put an arm around Tony and started walking. “Because if he’s not, I’ll take him up on that offer and beat the crap out of him.”

Tony chuckled and patted Adam on the back. “He has promised to do the same to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it.


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